The Diocese of Allentown rejoiced Feast Day of St. Anthony the Great on Jan. 17.

“#FeastDay Through the intercession of the Abbot St. Anthony, may we put aside our selfish pleasures and grow in love of Christ the Lord," the Diocese of Allentown posted on Facebook. "St. Anthony, pray for us!”

St. Anthony is the patron saint of butchers, gravediggers, and skin diseases. He is believed to have lived to the age of 105, according to Franciscan Media.

According to St. Anthony Las Cruces, much of what is known about Anthony’s life comes from the writings of his student Athanasius. St. Anthony’s feast day is celebrated on Jan. 17.

St. Anthony the Great, also known as St. Anthony of Egypt, was a religious hermit born in the third century. Anthony was born in Egypt and began to practice an ascetic life when he was 20. At the age of 35 he withdrew to a mountain near the Nile to practice absolute solitude. He lived there for almost 20 years, during which time he experienced a series of temptations from the Devil. These temptations took the form of visions. If Anthony was fasting, he might see a vision of the Devil dressed as a monk, bringing him bread. At other times, he saw visions of wild beasts or soldiers who would beat him. Sometimes he was plagued with tempting visions of women. Anthony repelled these visions with steadfast prayer and penitence. His temptations have been the subject of paintings by famous artists including Hiëronymus Bosch, Max Ernst, Paul Cézanne, and Salvador Dalí. The novelist Gustave Flaubert also described these visions in The Temptations of St. Anthony, according to Britannica.

The Diocese of Allentown began on Jan. 28, 1961. According to the Diocese's website, the Catholic faith is the largest religion in the five counties surrounding it.