Hundreds at Staten Island friary as relics arrive

Hundreds of Staten Islanders showed up at the St. Francis Friary on Todt Hill today to welcome the relics of St. Anthony of Padua.

A gold reliquary containing a piece of the 13th century saint's skin was the centerpiece of a prayer service led by the Rev. Philip Blaine of the friary. The Rev. Mario Conte, who traveled with the relics from Italy, gave a talk about the saint, a Franciscan who was revered as a theologian and preacher. Afterward, people were invited to venerate the relics, with many stroking or kissing the reliquary and touching Bibles to it.

Rosaria Incantalupo of Eltingville was there to thank the saint for his intercession seven years ago, when she was cured of cancer. She always vowed she would go to Padua to thank him at his tomb. "I never got to go but he came right to me."