Prayer to Saint Anthony of Padua

Saint Anthony of Padua holding the Infant Jesus in a moment of prayer

There are moments when something slips away — an object, an opportunity, a relationship, a sense of direction — and no amount of searching brings it back. Saint Anthony of Padua has long been one of the Church’s most beloved saints for lost things and urgent needs. Not because he replaces God, but because he knows the way to Him. Place before him what feels lost. For centuries, countless people have turned to Saint Anthony when something precious felt lost.

Who Is Saint Anthony of Padua?

Born in Lisbon in 1195, Anthony joined the Franciscans and became one of the most gifted preachers of his age — but he is remembered less for his words than for his miracles. He had a particular tenderness for the poor, the suffering, and those in desperate need. Jesus himself appeared to him as the Infant, resting in his arms — an image that has accompanied this devotion for centuries.

He died at just 36, was canonized within a year of his death — one of the fastest canonizations in Church history — and was declared a Doctor of the Church in 1946. His feast day is June 13.

We often turn to Saint Anthony not only for lost things, but also for lost hope, lost direction, and situations that seem beyond recovery.

When Should You Pray to Saint Anthony?

When you’ve lost something important — an object, a document, a key
When a relationship feels lost or broken
In urgent situations with no clear solution
When you feel spiritually lost or far from God
When a job, opportunity, or path has closed unexpectedly
When you need help finding the right words, the right decision, or the right direction
In any moment of distress, confusion, or desperate need

Saint Anthony, gentlest of saints —

you who held the Infant Jesus in your arms,
you who never turned away anyone who came to you in need,
I come to you now.

You know what I have lost.
You know the weight of what I am carrying.
You know the urgency in my heart.

I ask you to intercede for me before God,
not because I deserve it,
but because His mercy is without limit
and you know the way to His Heart.

Help me find what is lost.
Help me recover what seems gone.
Help me trust that nothing is beyond God’s reach —

not this situation,
not this pain,
not this need.

I place my intention before you:

(mention your intention here)

Saint Anthony, pray for me.
Jesus, through his intercession, hear me.

Amen.

How to Use This Prayer

Pray it slowly, naming your intention clearly before God. Many people pray it for three consecutive days, or on nine consecutive Tuesdays — a traditional devotion associated with Saint Anthony. You can also pray it as a single urgent petition whenever you need his help.

If you want to go deeper, the Novena to Saint Anthony of Padua is a nine-day devotion that prepares your heart to receive his intercession with greater trust.