28 April 2019

Miraculous Letter Delivery by St. Antony of Padua

It is a long standing tradition in some parts of the world to write the letters S.A.G on letters and parcels sent by mail as a protection for their safe delivery. The letters are a abbreviation of 'St. Antony Guide' which has its origin in a miraculous mail delivery that took place in 1729 in Spain through the intercession of St. Antony of Padua. The original letter, written in Spanish, is preserved and kept at the Franciscan Monastery in Oviedo to this day.

The miracle happened in Spain in the year 1729 when a Spanish merchant named Antonio Dante left Spain for South America to establish a business in Lima, Peru. His wife, who remained in Spain, wrote a number of letters to him but did not receive a reply from him. After many months of waiting for a reply, she was worried and left with little money to sustain herself. In her distress she brought a letter she wrote to her husband to the Church of St. Francis at Oviedo. In the church there was a large statue of St. Antony and she placed the letter in his palm and prayed with confidence to St. Antony for his intercession to deliver the letter to her husband.

The next day she returned to the church and saw that her letter was still in St. Antony's palm where she had left it the previous day. As she stood there weeping the Brother sacristan who saw her told her that he had tried to remove the letter from the hand of the statue but could not. He then asked her to try and take the letter from St. Antony's palm. When she tried, amazingly she could take it out with ease. As she removed the letter from the hand of St. Antony's statue, three hundered golden coins fell from the sleeve of the statue!! As she looked at the letter in surprise, it was not the one she had placed in his hand the previous day! Instead it was a letter from her husband!!

Astonished at this miracle, a number of the friars were called and ran to the scene and waited while the miraculous letter was opened. The letter was dated July 23, 1729 and read:
"My dearest wife. For some time I have been expecting a letter from you, and I have been greatly troubled and concerned at not hearing from you. But at last your letter has come, and given me joy. It was a Father of the Order of St. Francis who brought it to me. You complain that I have left your letters unanswered. I assure you that when I did not receive any from you I believed you must be dead, and so you may imagine my happiness at the arrival of your letter. I answer you now by the same religious Father, and send you three hundred golden crowns, which should suffice for your support until my approaching return.
In the hope of soon being with you, I pray God for you, and I commend myself to my dear patron St. Anthony, and ardently desire that you may continue to send me tidings of yourself.

Your most affectionate,
Antonio Dante"