Painting of St. Anthony

Abstract

The painting is showcased at the side altar in the chancel area, which was created after 1718, funded by the Grabowscy family from Wieliczka, as well as other townsmen and local miners. The painting of St. Anthony of Padua is an eighteenth-century reproduction of a painting which burnt down with the previous altar in 1718. According to the Franciscan tradition, the destroyed painting was older than the monastery complex itself and originated from a shrine which was located in the premises of the commune. A painting of Our Lady of Graces (currently located in the side chapel) and the above-mentioned painting of St. Anthony of Padua were both transferred from the chapel to the church and placed at the side altars of the newly built temple. The chapel was then demolished. St. Anthony, or Fernando Bullone, was born around the year 1195 in Lisbon, Portugal. At the age of 15, he joined the Augustinian community of Canons Regular of the Order of the Holy Cross, where he took the name of Anthony. In 1220, he joined the Franciscan order. He died in 1231. The Saint is worshipped by miners, as a patron of the lost and missing. His assistance was sought whenever a miner would go missing in the pits, or when a mine wall collapsed and miners were looking for an escape route, as well as when rescuers were trying to locate miners who had been trapped in the pits.