Who Stole My Patron Saint?  George L. Faull


June 13: The undated photo (above) provided
by Father Brian Doran of the St. Anthony
Catholic Church in Long Beach, Calif. via the
Long Beach Police Department shows a 780-
year-old religious relic of St. Anthony, the
patron saint of lost causes and missing
objects, center in cabinet, that was stolen from
the church.
LOS ANGELES -- A 780-year-old religious relic
of St. Anthony of Padua has been stolen, and
parishioners at a Southern California Catholic
church are praying to the patron saint of lost
causes and missing objects for its speedy
return.
The relic was stolen from inside a cabinet
beside the altar at St. Anthony Catholic Church
in Long Beach on Monday, the feast day of the
church's namesake.
While church members are upset that someone
would steal a holy object, their faith is still
strong. "They said, `Father, he's the patron
saint of lost causes, so he'll come home,"'
Magana said.
"I'm hoping we've got some higher sources
who've got our backs here and we can get it
back," Magana said. "People here are pretty
upset but they're praying. They're praying to
St. Anthony for the return of his own object."
I always thought if I ever again saw a car with a
St. Christopher medal (Patron Saint of
Travelers) swinging on a chain from a mirror on
a wrecked car in which someone died, I would
take a picture of it to show the vanity of praying

to saints.