About the holy man Brother Anthony of Reggio, Lay Friar

Brother Anthony was from a city situated in Calabria called Reggio. He was born to honest parents. When was young he went to work at manual duties. However when he was about seventeen years old, inspired by the Holy Spirit, he decided to take up religious life. When he heard of the fame of Brother Louis and his companions he went one day to find him and revealed to the secret of his heart which was to serve God in the holy Congregation of Capuchins. Recognising him to be very suitable for the service of God he encouraged him very much to maintain that good desire but to think it over very well. He explained to him everything that he would have to observe. However because Brother Anthony desired nothing else than to suffer, he felt more strongly about it and was received within a short time and was then close to the holy man Brother Louis and was his companion for a long time.

Once he was clothed he began to do great penance. He always persevered in the same way for as long as he lived in holy Congregation which was for about fifty years. Above all however he was very fervent and assiduous in holy prayers and received from the Lord the grace of contemplation. He slept very little. After attending to the necessities of nature he spent the rest of his spare time praying in the church. So after Matins he rarely and hardly ever went back to sleep but persevered in holy prayer until morning when the first Mass was said. He was never seen idle. He spent all his time usefully. He was always at prayer or at some useful task. The Friars often heard him sigh and stir himself with many tears. He was very kind towards his neighbour – serving the sick and needy with great charity. No one ever saw him exhausted or disturbed. However when he saw his neighbour he dissolved out of love. Because of this the Lord God often showed with clear signs just how acceptable was the service he gave his neighbour by giving him this gift. Whoever had any kind of sickness and went to him with faith and devotion, he healed that person immediately with the sign of the holy cross. This will be spoken about in its own place.

Once when the Turkish armada approached Sicily, it indicated that it wanted to go to Reggio. Because of this the frightened people fled, evacuating the city. With great faith the holy man Brother Anthony encouraged them like some one who knew by divine revelation what should happen. He said, “Do not worry. Do not flee. Pray to God. Repent of your sins and I promise you on His part that you will be spared and no harm will came to you.” Since everyone well knew about the holiness of Brother Anthony and how acceptable his prayers were to God, the people stopped when they heard his words, certain that the holy man was speaking through the Spirit. It was truly marvellous, that even though the armada wanted to come to Reggio, such a great windstorm arose that they were totally impeded and they could not approach.

He was very austere because he always wore a coarse hairshirt against his bare skin. He fasted almost continuously, however with great devotion he did the forty days that our Father Saint Francis was accustomed to do. For the more devout times he always fasted on bread and water. He was marvellously helped by a certain natural simplicity because he always had such quiet and tranquillity temperament that he seemed to be an Angel. Because of this had a great intimacy with Our Lord in his holy prayers, and because of this it is believed that he often spoke with Our Lady.

Once there was a great plague in Reggio. Because of this, with the obedience and blessing of their Guardian for Capuchin Friars – two Priests and two lay Friars- went from the friary at Reggio to serve the plague victims. After they persevered for some days with great fervour in that charity, it pleased the Lord God that one of the Priests passed away to the better life after succumbing to the plague. The Friars at the Friary knew nothing about it. So one day when the Guardian was in his cell he clearly heard one of those Friars, a Priest, who served the plague victims speaking with Brother Anthony who kept the door. This bothered him a great deal. He worried that he may have returned to the Friary and abandoned that work of charity. He also worried that he might come in and infect the whole friary. While he was listening attentively, anxious to know what they were discussing, he clearly heard the voice of that Friar. When the Guardian ran to the door he found Brother Anthony alone and said to him, “I heard the voice of Brother James – for that was his name – has he retuned?” Brother Anthony answered, “Yes indeed, Father, he has really retuned and I have spoken with him for a good while. However he has not returned physically as you think. Know that he died just now and came to ask you for your blessing and to visit us his brother before he went to heaven.” He had no sooner finished conversation than a messenger arrived from the city who brought the news that Brother James had passed away to the Lord. When the Guardian asked him at which hour he had died, he realised that it was precisely at that point in time when he appeared to Brother Anthony that that soul had left his body. A few days later the Guardian went to his cell early one morning to prepare for Mass. He heard knocking at the door of his cell. When he said, ‘Ave Maria’ he clearly heard a voice that said to him, “Bless me, Father.” He clearly recognised that the voice was that of another of the friars who were serving the plague victims. Quite frightened, he opened the door of his cell, firmly believing that he too had returned and would infect the other Friars. When he came out he carefully looked all around for where he might be. He found no one. Amazed at this he went straight away to Brother Anthony to ask him about the matter. Brother Anthony was the porter. Again the man of God said to him, “Know, Father, that like the first one, this one came to ask your blessing before flying to heaven because he has just died. I have seen him in a vision and have spoken with him and he told me that he came for the blessing.” The Guardian inquired carefully about the hour in what he had died and found that he died at that point when he knocked at his cell.

Out of obedience to the order of the very Reverend Father General of the Order, Brother Jerome of Montefiore, the Guardian reported all these things to his Provincial Vicar. And just as we said above, The purity and simplicity of this servant of God, Brother Anthony, show just how purified he was of affection for earthly things, having such close familiarity with those in the next life who had already become citizens of heaven. Therefore this servant of God did not lack troubles given him by evil spirits and perverse men. For whenever he was praying once the devil pestered him visibly for the space of two hours. Nonetheless this servant of God proved how much virtue he had in the presence of God for he fought in every tough battle, like a valiant captain, he defeated and won over the devil through the virtues of the triumphant Jesus Christ in His servants.

Therefore when the Lord God wanted to reward this servant of His, when he was in the friary at Reggio in the year of the Lord 1579, he fell gravely ill. He revealed his sickness to one of his trustworthy confreres and said to him, “Know, brother, that the Lord God has revealed to me the hour and the point at which I will die. Because of this, after much preparation, he was ready and organised for the passage of death. After having received all the most holy sacraments with great devotion, that soul happily passed over to its creator. He was buried in that friary.

His Majesty has shown just how acceptable this servant of His was, illustrating it with many miracle. I write some of them the trustworthy testimonies that were given to the General, the venerable Father Jerome of Montefiore. In particular there is the story of the young son of a gentleman, one of the prominent men of Messina. When the boy had a mortal illness, the gentleman, because of the great devotion he had for this holy man, sent a message to him and begged him with great insistence to come to visit his child. The Father Guardian of the friary sent him there. When he entered the house he was led to the bed where the boy lay and when he saw the child so gravely ill he felt a great compassion. The gentleman begged him to pray to God for him and make the sign of the holy Cross over him. With great humility, the holy man raised his mind to the Lord and made the sign of the holy Cross over him. It was amazing because he immediately began to improve and within a very short time he was perfectly healed. With great joy his father and the whole family thanked God and from then on bore a greater devotion towards Brother Anthony.

Another time there was a lady of Reggio who had been many years with her husband but had never been able to conceive. She went to find the holy man and with great faith commended herself to him. He replied, “Be assured that the Lord God will give you a son. Make sure you give him the name Francis because God has already granted this to you through the prayers of the Friars of Saint Francis. And make sure that to acknowledge that this comes from God through the merits of Saint Francis.” And that is what happened for not long after the woman had a son whom she named Francis.

This servant of God did another miracle. It was in the friary at Reggio and happened once when six young Friars came unexpectedly one morning for holy Orders. Since they ate before the others in the Friary there was not enough bread left for the Friars that morning. Brother Anthony was looking after the cellar. He said to the Guardian, “Father, there isn’t any bread!” The Guardian replied, “Because it is late and the city is far away, they would not return in time if we sent them questing. Take what little bread there is and give a little to each one. They will have to have patience this morning.” Then not long after fifteen persons, both Friars and seculars, arrived and the fraternity numbered fourteen. It was an amazing thing. That bread which would not have been enough for the Friars of the house was more than enough for twenty nine persons though the prayers of the holy man.

The same thing happened when fourteen soldiers arrived tired and hungry outside the door of the that friary the Guardian said to Brother Anthony, “Give them something to eat!” He replied, “There is not enough bread for the Friars and very little wine.” Nonetheless through the prayers of the servant of God, Our Lord multiplied the bread. For when he put in front of them the small amount of bread and wine there was more than enough for the soldiers and the Friars. The Guardian and other trustworthy Friars who were present for the miracle testify to this.

He did another miracle after his death. It was when there was a man who was completely shrivelled and crippled who couldn’t move at all. He was from Seminara. With great faith and devotion he had himself brought to the holy body before the Friars buried it. Kissing wit with great faith and devotion he was perfectly healed immediately. And where he had been brought upon a horse he returned on foot, healthy and robust with great joy and thanksgiving to God.

I will finish by narrating that many people took pieces of the habit of the holy man and kept them as precious relics with great devotion. The Lord God worked many, many miracles among the sick who were troubled with various kinds of illness. They were healed straight away when they put on one of those pieces.

To the praise and glory of Our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.