Places of Prayer

Nestled between sandy mountains and the Red Sea in Egypt, the Monastery of St. Anthony feels like a desert fortress. Built near where Anthony lived and died in 356 AD, it holds his cave, a spring he used, and walls that carry his prayers. In his later years, he moved there for quiet after crowds found his old fort. Today, monks live there, tending gardens like those he cared for and climbing to his steep, rocky cave, where he prayed under the stars to God. Some say when he passed at 105, angels carried his soul to heaven, but his spirit stays close to this holy place.

Pilgrims visit on his feast day, January 30, singing “Star of the Desert” and asking for his prayers. A Coptic story tells of a pilgrim in 2020 praying in his cave during a fierce storm—thunder roaring, winds howling. Suddenly, a glowing figure appeared, staff raised, and the storm calmed, as if told, “Be still!” Monks say they sometimes see lights flicker in the cave at night, and some pilgrims feel healed of skin troubles, a blessing they call “St. Anthony’s Fire.” For kids, it’s like his superhero base: a place where he fought demons long ago and still spreads peace, making it a prayer spot that glows with his love for God.