(February 18, 2010) From Monday 15th to Saturday 20th February 2010, the mortal remains
of St Anthony will be displayed in the Chapel of the Relics of the Pontifical Basilica
of the Saint in Padua for the veneration of the faithful. This will be the occasion
to see the Body of the Saint again before its return to the splendid and recently
restored Chapel of the Ark. This coincides with the liturgical feast of the Translation
of St Anthony also known as the Feast of the Tongue, which is celebrated each year
in the Basilica on 15th February, in remembrance of the first translation of the Saint’s
Body, which took place on 8th April 1263 and organised by St Bonaventure when the
Saint’s tomb found its final resting place in the present Chapel of the Ark. The public
feast day is celebrated on the Sunday following 15th February. Pilgrims and devoted
followers of the Saint are able to see the Body of St Anthony reassembled and visible
in a glass urn, 29 years after the last canonical and medical-scientific recognition
which took place in January 1981, 750 years after the death of the Saint, followed
by a memorable exposition, which lasted until 1st March 1981. On that occasion approximately
650 thousand pilgrims poured into the Basilica.