Anthony preaching in public

Once Anthony had travelled to the city of Rimini because it was a hotbed of heresy. The city leaders had ordered everyone to ignore him, so no one turned up for his homilies. Wherever Anthony went, he was greeted by silence.

Anthony walked along praying and reflecting upon what had happened. As he walked outside of the town, he came to the mouth of the Marecchia River where it flows into the Adriatic. There he began to address the crowds, not of people but of fish.

He called out, "Fish of the river and sea, listen to the Word of God because the heretics do not wish to hear it." Suddenly there were thousands of fish, all pushing their heads through the surface of the water straining to hear Anthony's words.

The people of Rimini, seeing this miracle, gathered to listen to Anthony. What began with simple interest in an extraordinary event turned into a passionate conviction that Anthony was speaking to their very hearts. They were so moved by Anthony's words, by his call to conversion, that they abandoned their hardened positions and returned to the Church.