Upon encountering the constant presence of the image of Saint Anthony in Slovak churches, we knew that there was a message to be understood and assimilated. Our research process indicated that the visual narrative had medieval roots, not in sculptural objects or paintings. The medieval Franciscan memory is found in documents yet to be unveiled. These documents describe a journey that began with the arrival of the first Franciscan friars in the Hungarian kingdom in the 13th century, at the request of the King of Thuringia and Marburg. Subsequent documents include an indulgence dated around 1295 and papal representations, notably the presence of Slavs as spectators of Saint Anthony's preaching in Rome before Pope Gregory IX, where the latter attested that the saint was the 'Ark of the Covenant'. This event is narrated in the Liber Miraculum attributed to Arnold of Serrano and dated between 1369-73. Another point to note is that the brothers of the Poor Man of Assisi were part of the construction of the Slavic social fabric, helping the poor and sick, and intervening geographically and politically, while between the 13th, 14th, and 15th centuries, they endured the trials of invasions, specifically by the Mongols and Moors. The Protestant movements that began during the 16th and 17th centuries received political support as well as support from local nobles. Several decades of work by the Franciscans and Jesuits were necessary to regain territories and followers. In the 17th century, part of the Hungarian kingdom joined the House of Habsburg to fight the Ottoman invaders, specifically in the Battle of Vienna. Such great difficulty received divine intervention; Saint Anthony was invoked to guarantee victory for the Christians. After the victory, the Slavs and the Habsburgs never ceased to commemorate the miracle-working and preaching saint.