St. Anthony of Egypt

The St. Anthony commemorated today isn't the one who helps us find our lost things.  That St. Anthony (of Padua) is most generally depicted holding a lily in one hand and the Child Jesus in the other; this St. Anthony...well...depictions of him tend to be a bit more colorful.  We generally either see him being "tempted" (attacked?) by a motley crew of rather fantastical demons...

...or with...a pig.

Yup: he's usually got a little piggy peeking out from under his robes or hot on his heels.  Whence his constant porcine companion?  Well, that's a little complicated...

Around the age of 20, Anthony (251-356) sold his property and gave away his inheritance, opting for the life of a hermit in the desert wilderness.  In this solitude he wrestled with the devil (hence the first picture), attracted numerous admirers and disciples (earning him the title "Father of Monks"), and gained a reputation for healing the sick...which leads us to porky.


It seems that Anthony--even from heaven--proved particularly adept at healing those with skin diseases.  And, once upon a time, certain skin diseases were treated with--are you ready?--applications of pork fat to reduce itching and inflammation.  (Maybe Lady Gag was onto something with that--yuck!--infamous meat dress.)

Anyway...this connection between cures and cured meat began to be depicted in art by means of a little porker snuggled up close to good St. Anthony.  Of course, they could have just shown him with a box of this very creative addition to your medicine cabinet...

Who knew?  Bacon has its very own patron saint.  And being a poor, (likely vegetarian) desert hermit, he probably never even touched the stuff.