Patron Saint of Lost Things
Saint Anthony of Padua (1195–1231), a Portuguese-born Franciscan friar and Doctor of the Church, is one of the most widely petitioned saints in Catholic devotion and is famously invoked when something has been lost. The tradition of his patronage of lost things is medieval in origin and tied to a specific incident in his own life — the disappearance and recovery of a treasured book of psalms.
Prayer
Saint Anthony, perfect imitator of Jesus, who received from God the special power of restoring lost things, grant that I may find that which has been lost. At least restore to me peace and tranquility of mind, the loss of which has afflicted me even more than my material loss. To this favor, I ask another of you: that I may always remain in possession of the true good that is God. Let me rather lose all things than lose God, my supreme good. Let me never suffer the loss of my greatest treasure, eternal life with God. Amen.
Traditional novena: 9 days.
Why Saint Anthony is invoked for lost things
The patronage arose from an incident in Anthony's own life. He owned a psalter — a book of the Psalms — which he used in teaching his Franciscan novices and which contained his own annotations. A novice who decided to leave the order took the book with him. Anthony prayed that it be returned, and the novice, according to the early hagiographies, was so troubled by his conscience (and by an apparition some sources describe) that he returned both the book and himself to the community. From this episode the tradition spread that Anthony was the saint to invoke for the recovery of any lost article. The familiar rhyming invocation "Tony, Tony, look around, something's lost and must be found" is a modern English-language echo of a much older medieval practice.
How the novena is prayed
The novena to Saint Anthony is prayed for thirteen days in some traditions — reflecting his feast day, June 13 — but most commonly for nine consecutive days. Each day the petitioner recites the prayer above, names what has been lost (whether a material object, a relationship, a sense of vocation, or peace of mind), and concludes with the Lord's Prayer, the Hail Mary, and the Glory Be. The Franciscan "Tuesdays of Saint Anthony" — devotions on thirteen consecutive Tuesdays — are an alternative form widely practiced in Italy and Latin America.
Major shrines
The principal shrine is the Pontifical Basilica of Saint Anthony of Padua (Basilica del Santo) in Padua, Italy, where Anthony's tomb and relics — including his preserved tongue and vocal cords, taken at the 1263 translation of his body — are venerated. The basilica draws roughly six million pilgrims annually. Other major sites include the Church of Saint Anthony in Lisbon, built on his birthplace, and the Shrine of Saint Anthony in Ellicott City, Maryland.