Every July 5, the Catholic Church celebrates Saint Anthony Maria Zaccaria, Italian doctor and priest, founder of the Regular Clerics of Saint Paul (Barnabites), the Angelic Sisters of Saint Paul and the Laity of Saint Paul. Saint Anthony Mary is part of the extraordinary group of founding saints of the 16th century.
“In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight” (Proverbs 3, 6)
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Antonio María Zaccaria was born in Cremona (Italy), in 1502. He lost his father before he was one year old and it was his mother who dedicated herself completely to providing him with the necessary care and sowing in him the seed of the Christian faith. Thanks to her, the boy grew increasingly aware of the love and providence of God.
At the age of 22 he graduated as a doctor, full of expectations and the desire to serve others with his profession. He had the hope of saving many lives and, why not, souls. Although without knowing it at the time, Antonio María had begun to walk the path of service that would lead him to the priesthood.
A few years later, encouraged by his spiritual director, he began to study philosophy and theology. Over time, with his heart ready to respond to God’s call, he was ordained a priest. Antonio María had become a doctor of bodies and souls.
Contemplate God and do his work
Later he moved to Milan. There he founded the Clerics Regular of St. Paul (known as ‘Barnabites’, because they congregated at the Church of St. Barnabas), the Angelic Sisters of St. Paul, and the Laity of St. Paul. The saint is also credited with having instituted the ’40 Hour Adoration’, moved by his great love for the Holy Eucharist. This liturgical celebration, also called ‘Feast of the Forty Hours’, consists of a day of prayer in front of the Blessed Sacrament that begins on Good Friday and concludes on Easter Sunday, “reviewing” the forty hours that the Body of Jesus remained in the Holy sepulchre.
The times of Saint Anthony Mary Zaccaria were very difficult for the Church: they were the years of the Protestant revolt proclaimed in Germany by Martin Luther and spread throughout much of Europe. Zaccaría was one of those who, with his enormous apostolic work, prepared the ground for the great ‘Counter-Reformation’ that the Catholic Church would promote with the Council of Trent (1545-1563).
Early death
Saint Anthony Maria Zaccaria died on July 5, 1539 at the age of 36. Some of his biographers agree in describing his apostolic work as ‘magnificent’ or ‘monumental’, so much so that some suggest that it is as if the saint had lived 30 years longer than he finally did. Although he died young, his life was an embodiment of that verse from the Book of Wisdom, in the Old Testament, which says:
“The righteous, even if he dies prematurely, will find rest;
because venerable age does not consist of having long life
nor is it measured by the number of years.
The true gray hair of man is prudence
and advanced age is measured by a blameless life” (Wisdom 4, 7-9).
Pope Leo XIII proclaimed him a saint on May 15, 1897. His Feast is celebrated on July 5 of each year.
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If you want to know more about the life of San Antonio María Zaccaria, you can consult the following link from the Catholic Encyclopedia: https://ec.aciprensa.com/wiki/San_Antonio_Maria_Zaccar%C3%ADa.
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