Hello, and welcome to St. Stories for Kids! A weekly podcast full of fun stories and

facts about the holy men and women that have come before us. I'm your host, Shantal Baros.

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Today we'll be telling the story of St. Antoninus of Florence, whose feast is celebrated on May

2nd. Antoninus was born on March 1st, 1389 in Florence, Italy, to a Catholic family.

At the age of 16, Antoninus decided to join the Dominican Order at the Priory of St.

Dominic in Fisole. Along with another famous saint, Fran Geleco, who was an artist, he was

sent to Cortona for his first year in the Novician. For many years, Antoninus worked to

help perform communities in his order all around Italy. On March 13th, 1446, Antoninus became

the Archbishop of Florence. As Archbishop, he continued to live life according to the rule

of St. Dominic, and for his leadership during plagues and earthquakes gained the love and

respect of his people. Antoninus died on May 2nd, 1459, and his funeral was presided

over by Pope Pius II. St. Antoninus is the patron saint of Moncolvo, Turin, Italy.

Now it's time for our story. This, said the Florentine merchant proudly,

is the finest fruit basket I have ever seen. He stood back from the table to admire the

lovely gift. Justering for his wife to come over and examine the basket, he repeated

himself saying, the finest! Don't you think it's the finest you've ever seen? He asked

her. The merchant's wife nodded approvingly.

Oh, yes, dear, she said, it's absolutely beautiful. You really have done a nice job.

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