Within this giant edifice with a mixture of architectural styles, rests the body of beloved St. Anthony. 

The actual Basilica is largely the result of 3 different reconstructions, which took place over a period of about 70 years: 1238-1310.

In St. Anthony's time there was the little church of Santa Maria Mater Domini…. And when the Wonder-Worker died: the sad news spread like wildfire, and the locals soon gathered to prevent the body from being taken away. So, they explained to the people that the Saint had expressly requested to be buried in Padua in the church of Santa Maria Mater Domini where there was the community of friars. And that what actually happened  on June the 17th.

This church soon became a magnet of attraction for pilgrims, and many extraordinary events and healings began to take place there. So, the construction of a first Basilica, with a single nave and a short transept, began in 1238; then 2 lateral naves were added and it was eventually transformed into the amazing structure that we admire today:  mixing of mainly Romanesque and Byzantine elements, with some Gothic features.

A ”Santo Subito”:

Anthony’s popularity among the people was massive!! By the time, Pope Gregory IX knew him personally and had a great admiration for him, to the point of calling him “Ark of the Testament”… as a result of all this: Anthony became one of the fastest to be proclaimed a saint.  And it was reported that during the canonization ceremony, Pentecost (30 May 1232), the bells of all the churches in Lisbon, Anthony’s home town in Portugal, started ringing without anyone having touched them!                                          

A surprise:

 In 1263 the new building was almost complete and so it was decided to move the saint’s coffin to the new church. On this occasion and in the presence of religious authorities and 12 laymen who represented the most authoritative citizens of Padua: an occurrence took the group by surprise!! 

Just below the skull: there was a portion of flesh that took the reddish color:  This was the Saint’s tongue which was found to be perfectly preserved!!! At this point, the General Minster of Franciscans Bonaventure of Bagnoregio, a great theologian who was himself later to become a saint, expressed his joy and surprise with these words:

 O blessed tongue; you have always praised the Lord and led others to praise him! Now we can clearly see how great indeed have been your merits before God!!!

now, later medical and anthropological examination proved that the cartilaginous tissue supporting the vocal cords, along with other organic material connected with Anthony’s vocal apparatus, were still remarkably preserved along with the Saint’s tongue!!

Thus, it was decided that the holy tongue to be separated from the remains along with the saint's jawbone and left permanently preserved in reliquaries for veneration within the basilica itself.   These relics were considered material proof of St. Anthony's gift at preaching and the eloquence of his spiritual sermons!!

Here, it’s important to note that the tongue is one of the most fragile parts of the human body. After death, most probably it is the part that decays first. 

Therefore, by preserving St. Anthony’s tongue from corruption, God wants to convey a ‘spiritual message’: He wants to speak to us via St. Anthony’s mission and in particular his preaching, which the saint performed mainly though his tongue and vocal apparatus.

Today , both spiritual and physical pilgrims of Padua are filled in conviction that the real meaning of a relic is love, they still meditate upon this relic of marvelous Anthony; and ask him to whisper into the ears of the sweet Infant Jesus folded in his arms, a particular grace:

That of being a powerful living sermon in the desert of this world that hasn’t change much from the days of the saint… a world thirsty for vain power, money & pleasures, as per Anthony’s personal description!!  a world that needs living sermons that hammer heresies and bless the Lord causing others to bless Him!!!