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Fernando Martins de Bulhõs
First name of Germanic origin.
The name Fernando comes from the name Ferdinand, a latinized form of the Germanic name "Frithunanth or Fridnand". This name is composed of two elements: "Frithu", which means "peace or protection." "Nanth", which refers to someone bold or courageous.
Overall, Ferdinand or Fernando designates a courageous man for peace, or someone who dares to protect something.
1195 in Lisbon, Portugal.
1231 in Contado de Padua, Italy.
Fernando was born into a noble family of Portuguese soldiers.
As a teenager, he decided to dedicate his life to religion and joined the Augustinian Canons at Saint Vincent.
At the age of 25, he witnessed the return of the bodies of Franciscans who had been martyred in Morocco, which deeply moved him to the point where he asked to become a disciple of Francis of Assisi, where he later became "Brother Anthony," in homage to the first Saint Anthony, the first known Christian hermit.
After an aborted mission to Morocco a year later, he arrived in Sicily where he met the Franciscans of Messina. There, he proved his skills as an orator. Francis of Assisi then sent him to preach the word of Christ in France and Italy.
During this journey, he also demonstrated his talents as a preacher and his knowledge of theology. He then settled in southern France, founded a monastery in Brive where he continued to convert people to Christianity.
He was so talented that he was nicknamed the "living treasure of the Bible" by Pope Gregory IX himself. He became, at the same time, one of the personal advisors of this pope.
Sent to Padua in 1231 to continue his mission of evangelization during Lent, he died there of dropsy and exhaustion.
The great admiration of Pope Gregory IX towards Fernando led the Pope to canonize him in 1232, the following year.
In addition to his important theological knowledge, he would have been the author of about forty miraculous healings. He also had great persuasive power and were, according to legend, able to communicate with fish...
The cult of Saint Anthony of Padua, although already very important in Italy and Portugal, where he is the patron saint of the country, would greatly expand in the 15th century.
He is the patron saint of prisoners, orphans, and sailors.
He is also invoked to find lost objects. This is related to a story that a thief stole his comments on the psalms and a divine power ordered the thief to return these items to Fernando.
His body and relics can be found, notably, in the Basilica of Saint Anthony in Padua, Italy.
