Biography
Anthony of Weert
About Anthony of Weert
Anthony of Weert was a Franciscan preacher, probably born around 1523. The diocesan account remembers him as cheerful, demanding of himself and gentle toward others.
Estius recalls village preaching, fundraising, discipline and cheerfulness.
His birthplace is uncertain in detail. Charles Caspers places him in the border area of Kampershoek and Rosveld, where a claimed birth house has been associated with Nederweert. Caspers gives an approximate birth year of 1522. Neither account establishes a birthday, and the uncertainty should remain visible.
The Brielle shrine names him among the nineteen Gorcum martyrs, killed on 9 July 1572. They were canonized on 29 June 1867.
His local remembrance grew after canonization. Caspers describes a chapel built in stages and a regional pilgrimage supported by Franciscan friars. Neighbors repaired the declining chapel in 1975, but visits dwindled. The building was demolished in 1992 for industrial redevelopment; a near-identical chapel was reconstructed at Boeket. A separate new chapel near the earlier site was blessed in 1999. These buildings tell the history of his remembrance, rather than supplying missing details about his lifetime.
The group’s feast is 9 July.
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