For lost items and seemingly impossible causes.

St. Anthony of Padua (1195–1231) is one of the most beloved saints in the Catholic Church, renowned for his miraculous powers and his extraordinary preaching. He is invoked throughout the world for the recovery of lost items and in all difficult situations.

The Prayer

O Holy St. Anthony, gentlest of Saints,
your love for God and charity for His creatures
made you worthy, when on earth,
to possess miraculous powers.
Miracles waited on your word,
which you were ever ready to speak for those in trouble or anxiety.
Encouraged by this thought,
I implore you to obtain for me [mention your request].
The answer to my prayer may require a miracle.
Even so, you are the Saint of Miracles.
O gentle and loving St. Anthony,
whose heart was ever full of human sympathy,
whisper my petition into the ears of the Sweet Infant Jesus,
who loved to be folded in your arms,
and the gratitude of my heart will ever be yours.
Amen.

About This Prayer

St. Anthony was a Franciscan friar, Doctor of the Church, and one of the greatest preachers of the Middle Ages. He died at 35 and was canonised within a year of his death — one of the fastest canonisations in Church history. His intercession for lost things is connected to the tradition that a novice who stole his psalter was compelled by a terrifying vision to return it.