This is a special offering were the devotees express their veneration to St. Antony by offering garland and crown to the saint. Through this offering each devotee of St. Antony prays for the protection and intervention of the saint in their day to day life.
It’s said that on the island of Corsica, near France, during the French Revolution, the Franciscan monksbefore leaving the monastery offered a handful of Lily flowers in front of the statue of St. Antony andwith prayed for the protection of the monastery. When the monks returned after the French Revolution years later, they found that the surroundings were destroyed by violence, but the monastery was not damaged. When they entered themonastery,they saw the Lily flowers, offered years back, very fresh as if it was offered yesterday. The whole place was filled with the aroma of lilies. Following this event, Pope Leo XIII ordered to embody the lily flowers to the statue of the saint. That is how the lily flowers came to be in the image of St. Antony. From that day on, the faithful began to offer garland and crown in the statue of St. Antony praying for protection.