The name St. Anthony of Padua is very much popular with the devotees. St. Anthony of Padua was a saint who lived in Italy in the middle ages (1195-1231) and led the people to true faith. Though he was a Portuguese by birth, he became famous for his great miraculous deeds and powerful sermons in the Italian town of Padua and hence the name St. Anthony of Padua. Just like the name Padua got associated with the Saint Anthony who lived there and motivated the people there to turn to God, Kaloor too became synonymous with St. Anthony and his wonder works. It is now believed to be the greatest pilgrim centre of St. Anthony in Asia. The present shrine, which covers a wide area consisting of the church, rectory, Adoration chapel, Antonian Bible College etc. had its beginnings as a small shrine dedicated to St. Antony which belonged to the parish of St. Francis Xavier. The shrine saw astounding growth during its almost a century old history. Some basilicas are called "Ancient Basilicas". These have been called basilicas since Early Christian or Medieval times. It is their traditional name. Ancient Basilicas include the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem, the Basilica of San Vitale in Ravenna and the Basilica of San Lorenzo in Rome. The four other ancient basilicas of Rome are called the "Major Basilicas". Each Major Basilica has a throne for the pope and an altar that is specially for the pope to celebrate mass. No-one else can use that altar without the pope's permission. All the other basilicas are called "Minor Basilicas". Nowadays, for a church to be called a Minor Basilica, it has to be given some special privileges or rights by the pope in a document called a "Papal Brief". When a church has been made a basilica, the clergy then carry some special symbols when they are in procession. In 2008 there were more than 1,600 basilicas in the world.