St. Anthony, Abbot
January 17, 2019
The Father of Western monasticism, Anthony chose a life a solitude in the desert, but as so often happens, the holiness and reputation of a holy hermit draws pilgrims and eventually he founded a monastery of like-spirited desert dwellers. Their poverty and solitude embodied their vision of leaving all and following Jesus.
I never paid too much attention to the pig or wild boar which is depicted with St. Anthony in some works of art, but now see that the boar is very frequently at his side. The original association was with a healing Anthony performed on a wild boar but became joined to the medieval use of lard as a soothing skin lotion for certain maladies for which the afflicted prayed to St. Anthony for relief. St. Anthony is joined atop the facade in St. Peter's by a faithful, grateful boar.