Anthony Maria Zaccaria

Saint Anthony Maria Zaccaria (Italian: Antonio monly known as the ); a female branch of un- Maria Zaccaria) (1502 – 5 July 1539) was an early cloistered , the Angelic Sisters of St. Paul; and a lay leader of the Counter . His feast day is cele- congregation for married people, the of St. Paul, brated on 5 July. originally called the Married of St. Paul, and sometimes referred to in North America as the Oblates of St. Paul. The three foundations met regularly and engaged together in various forms of apostolic action. Their aim was the 1 Life reform of the decadent society of their day, beginning with the clergy and religious.[4] Anthony was born in the city of , , in 1502 to Lazzaro and Antonia Pescaroli Zaccaria, and was bap- tized on the same day in the Cathedral of Cremona, prob- ably by his uncle Don Tommaso Zaccaria, canon of the 2.1 The of St. Paul (the Cathedral. When he was two his father died. His family Barnabites) was of the nobility, and in order to teach him compassion [1] for the poor, his mother made him her almoner. After “The Congregation of the Regular Clerks of St. Paul” was attending the Episcopal School annexed to the Cathedral, canonically sanctioned by Pope Clement VII in 1533.[1] he studied philosophy at the , and, The Barnabites’ main devotions were the teachings of from 1520, medicine at the . Af- Paul and emphasis on love for the and ter completing studies in 1524, he practised as a physi- Christ crucified. The order was named after the compan- [2] cian in Cremona for three years. In 1527, he started ion of St. Paul.[4] Since the order criticized what they saw studying for the priesthood, and was ordained in February as abuses in the Roman , Zaccaria soon 1529. Having explored his calling for two years, mainly gained a number of enemies, and as the order’s founder, working in hospitals and institutions for the poor, he be- he was twice investigated for heresy, in 1534 and 1537. came the spiritual advisor to Countess Ludovica Torelli He was acquitted both times. In 1536, he stepped down of Guastalla (then the tiny County of Guastalla) in 1530, as general of the order and went to Vicenza, where he and followed her to . In Milan he became a member reformed two convents and founded the order’s second [3] of the Oratory of Eternal Wisdom. house. In Vincenza, he popularized for the laity the Forty- hour devotion—solemn exposition of the Blessed Sacra- ment for the adoration of the faithful—accompanied by 2.2 The Angelic Sisters of St. Paul preaching. He also revived the custom of ringing church bells at 3 p.m. on Fridays, in remembrance of the Crucifixion.[2] On January 15, 1535 Pope Paul III approves the Angelic Sisters with the Bull, “Debitum pastoralis officii”. On While on a mission to Guastalla, Italy, in 1539, he caught February 27, 1536 Zaccaria confers the habit on six pos- a fever. Combined with the strict penances he performed, tulants of the Angelic Sisters. Zaccaria appoints Negri his health waned and he died on 5 July 1539, at the age of Mistress of Novices on March 4, 1537. 36. The suffragan bishop, Bishop Luca di Seriate, who ordained him a priest, presides over the funeral. In at- tendance are the aristocratic assembly and the people of Cremona and surrounding towns.[2] He was buried in the 3 Veneration convent of the Angelics of St Paul, the female branch of the Barnabites, in Milan. After his death, a number of cures were attributed to the intercession of Anthony Mary Zaccaria. 27 years after his death, his body was found to be incorrupt.[1] His mortal 2 Foundations remains are now enshrined at the Church of St. in Milan, Italy.[3] He was canonized by Pope Leo XIII on While in Milan, he laid the foundations of three religious 27 May 1897. His feast day is celebrated on 5 July.[5] He orders: one for men (the Clerics Regular of St Paul, com- is a of physicians.[6]

1 2 4 CHRONOLOGY OF THE LIFE OF ST. ANTHONY MARY ZACCARIA

3.1 Iconography • February 18, 1533 (Bologna). Zaccaria receives from Pope Clement VII, the Bull of approval for his In art, he is depicted wearing the black of the group, still without an official name and residence. order and holding a lily, cross, and/or host. • November 10, 1533 (Guastalla). As the legal rep- resentative of Ludovica (Paola) Torelli, Zaccaria leaves for Curtatone (Mantua) to defend the inno- 4 Chronology of the Life of St. An- cent Fra Battista da Crema from the unjust accu- thony Mary Zaccaria sations of his superiors, warning that he will carry out the execution and offer as evidence a new Papal Brief. • December 1–15, 1502 (Cremona). Anthony Mary Zaccaria is born in the home of the Zaccaria family • October 4, 1534 (Milan). To his companions (Premoli, Storia I, pp. 399–403). - (Probable date gathered in St. Catherine, and fearful for a law- is December 8, 1502, Thursday). suit against all “the house of Paul,” Zaccaria ad- dresses a passionate exhortation, urging them to im- • August 15, 1524 (Padua). According to tradition, itate Christ Crucified under the banner of Paul and on the feast of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary, reduce the cause of the persecution to a simple game the student Zaccaria completes his course of study of passion. at the University of Padua and returns to Cremona. • July 25, 1535 (). Pope Paul III, with a Bull • June 6, 1528 (Cremona). The doctor Zaccaria re- of approbation, confirms the devotion to St. Paul for ceives the tonsure and the minor orders. Zaccaria and his group.

• 1528 (Bologna). Zaccaria completes his studies in • December 25, 1535 (Milan). On Christmas Day, theology in Bologna. Anthony Mary Zaccaria celebrates the Mass for the first time at the Oratory of the Monastery of St. Paul • February 20, 1529 (Cremona). Anthony Mary Za- of the Angelic Sisters. ccaria is ordained a priest in the Chapel of St. Joseph by Bishop Luca di Seriate, titular bishop of Duvno • January 25, 1536 (Milan). Zaccaria officially in- and suffragan of Cardinal Benedetto Accolti. augurates the new Monastery of St. Paul.

• End of 1529 (Guastalla). Don Pietro Orsi, Chap- • April 15, 1536 (Milan). Giacomo Antonio Morigia lain of the Countess of Guastalla, Ludovica Torelli, is elected Superior. dies. Countess Ludovica Torelli, who previously • met Zaccaria with his mother when she married May 7, 1536 (Milan). Zaccaria promotes the ex- Lodovico Stanga, appoints Zaccaria as her new position of the Holy Shroud from the balcony of Chaplain, perhaps at the suggestion of Fra Battista Castello Sforzesco. It is the first in history. da Crema. • November 30, 1536 (Milan). Zaccaria proposes to • Fall of 1530 (Milan). Zaccaria joins the Oratory of Fr. Francis Castellino to establish permanently the Eternal Wisdom where he meets Bartolomeo Ferrari School of Christian Doctrine for the youth. and Giacomo Antonio Morigia. • April 19, 1537 (Guastalla). With a handwrit- ten letter undersigned by Torelli, Zaccaria appoints • August 30, 1531 (Milan). Zaccaria introduces the Giuseppe Fellini of Cremona Podestà (Mayor) of ringing of bells at 3 o’clock in the afternoon every Guastalla. Friday to commemorate the passion and death of our Lord (Burigozzo, Cronaca, III, 509). • July 2, 1537 (Milan). On Tuesday, Zaccaria accompanies the first Pauline (Barn- • December 14, 1531 (Cremona). In his last will and abites, Angelic Sisters, and Laity of St. Paul) and testament, Zaccaria stipulates the construction of a some collaborators (Castellino da Castello and Fra chapel in honor of the Conversion of St. Paul in his Bono Lizzari) to Vicenza, and builds an altar in parish, St. Donato. It is the first official Pauline cen- honor of St. Paul in the Church of the Converted. ter in the , after the end of the Circle of Meaux in France (1525). • August 21, 1537 (Milan). The Senate President, Giacomo Filippo Sacchi, issues a full acquittal “ex • February 25, 1532 (Milan). An onslaught on the capite innocentiae” on all the charges of heresy lev- apostolate in the city occurs. A Lenten preacher eled against the Paulines. in the Cathedral of Milan (a certain “Carmelite Brother”) incites the crowd against the Paulines, but • Year 1537 (Milan). Anthony Mary Zaccaria pro- later repents. motes the solemn Forty Hours Adoration of the 5.1 The 12 Letters of St. Anthony Mary Zaccaria 3

Blessed Sacrament in the Cathedral of Milan, and in shifts at the “Quattro Porte” (Four Gates) of the city.

• August 29, 1537 (Milan). At the request of the cit- izens of Milan, Pope Paul III, with a Papal Brief, Universis Christifidelibus, addressed to the Vicar General, Cardinal Marino Caracciolo, approves and supports the Forty Hours Adoration.

• November 13, 1538 (Guastalla). Zaccaria asks and obtains justice, with the intervention of the Podestà (Mayor), for Giandomenico Mangalassi, a victim of injustice.

• June 20, 1539 (Guastalla). Zaccaria writes to the couple Omodei in Milan and speaks of a great “weariness of the body.” He feels that his end is im- minent and wants to be brought back to Cremona through a boat of dealers who have two mandatory stops (in Cremona and Casalmaggiore) of their trade route along the Po River.

• July 5, 1539 (Cremona). On Saturday, at 3 o’clock in the afternoon, on the eve of the Feast of Sts. Pe- ter and Paul Apostle, Anthony Mary Zaccaria, dies The Manuscript of Letter 2 of St. Anthony Mary Zaccaria in his home (in the house where he was born), in the arms of his mother, surrounded by his first compan- ions. The eleven letters cover a nine-year period, 1530 to 1539. However, there are gaps between 1531 and 1534, and be- tween 1534 and 1537. Letter IX and Letter XII are un- 5 Writings dated. The last three letters, a remarkable total of 2,200 words penned in the brief space of ten busy days, were addressed to an Angelic, a Barnabite, and a Married Cou- He left only a few writings: twelve letters, six sermons, ple. Written respectively on June 10, 11, and 20, 1539, and the constitution of the Barnabites. that is, within less than a month of his death, these letters LETTERS unwittingly became, as it were, his final testament to the three families of his foundation. Anthony Mary’s letters There are eleven letters signed by Anthony Mary. Four do not belong to any literary genre nor can they be styled are original manuscripts: Letter II (addressed to Bar- “spiritual letters” per se. They were occasional writings tolomeo Ferrari and Giacomo Antonio Morigia, January dashed off without any concern for style, in plain, totally 4, 1531); Letter IV (to Giovan Giacomo Piccinini, Jan- unadorned language. However, they do contain a wealth uary 16, 1534); Letter VI (to Ferrari, October 8, 1538); of extraordinary spirituality, a fact easily recognized by and Letter VII (to Battista Soresina, November 3, 1538). his earliest biographers. Of the other seven, we have only copies, though they are very early. Three letters are cosigned by Anthony Mary Anthony Mary himself, in his last letter, pointedly re- and Angelic Paola Antonia Negri. They are, Letter VI, marked: “I have not written one word without some spe- Letter VII], and Letter VIII. In addition, there is a twelfth cial meaning in it. If you discover it, it will be, I think, letter: though it bears only Negri’s signature, it was with- most useful and gainful for you.” out a doubt penned by Anthony Mary. In fact, the original manuscript of this letter is in Anthony Mary’s own hand- writing. 5.1 The 12 Letters of St. Anthony Mary Zaccaria One letter is addressed to Fra Battista da Crema (Letter I); two are addressed to the Angelics (Letter V and Letter • Letter 1 - Being Thankful to God IX); three to laymen (Letter III, Letter IV, and Letter XI); and four to the Barnabites (Letter II, Letter VII, Letter • Letter 2 - Remedies for Irresoluteness VIII, and Letter X). One (Letter VI) is addressed to Bar- • Letter 3 - Unceasing Prayer tolomeo Ferrari, but it is meant for both Barnabites and Angelics who were doing work in Vicenza. • Letter 4 - Confidence in God in the Face of Difficulty 4 5 WRITINGS

• Letter 5 - Spiritual Renewal and Progress Recently, a hypothesis was put forth, according to which the Sermons are not liturgical homilies, but opening talks • Letter 6 - Spiritual Progress & Christian Service given at the Amicizia Oratory meetings, where all present could then speak. It is noteworthy that Anthony Mary re- • Letter 7 - Christ’s Will Versus One’s Own Will serves the term “sermon” only to his talk on lukewarm- • Letter 8 - Trust in the Lord ness.

• Letter 9 - The , True Imitators of Christ 5.2 List of Sermons • Letter 10 - Steady Growth in Holiness • Sermon 1 • Letter 11 - Becoming Great Saints • Sermon 2 • Letter 12 - God’s Gift of Light • Sermon 3 LISTEN FREE TO THE 12 LETTERS OF ST. AN- • Sermon 4 THONY MARY • Sermon 5 SERMONS The manuscript codex of the Sermons is kept in the Gen- • Sermon 6 eral Archives of the Barnabites in Rome. It was entrusted • Sermon 7 by Anthony Mary’s mother to the Angelics of Santa Marta Convent in Cremona. Early Barnabite historian, Father Giovanni Antonio Gabuzio, retrieved it during his stay CONSTITUTIONS in that city from 1584 to 1595. It is an index-notebook. When he was a student at the University of Padua, An- thony Mary recorded in it some lines of the philosopher, Averroës. Later on, as a priest in Cremona, he wrote in it the talks on the Ten Commandments, which he gave at the Amicizia Oratory in St. Vitalis church. Clearly, he planned to write out ten sermons, one on each command- ment. However, the notebook contains only five sermons: four on the first four commandments. The fifth one is on the commandment, but it is only half finished. Ser- mon I has an appendix on how nuns should practice the first commandment. Maybe it was intended for the Au- The Constitutions of 1579 gustinian Community of Santa Maria Annunziata in Cre- mona. We have no original manuscript of the Constitutions. We A sixth sermon was part of a projected trilogy on moral only have a very early copy. The Constitutions is no more and spiritual lukewarmness. The Sermons are addressed than an extended outline. It was never approved nor pro- to noble laymen, who were married and had children, mulgated, hence, it was never binding. In all probability, and were active members of the Amicizia Oratory, in the it is a reworked translation of a previous Latin outline years 1529-1530 when Anthony Mary was a priest; how- by Fra Battista, the so-called “Primitive Constitutions.” ever, their content is applicable to everyone. The above- It was a basic text worked on by the first Fathers toward mentioned appendix to Sermon I proves it. All the Ser- a definitive text. mons have the same structure. They are divided in two parts. The first one treats of a specific theme. In Ser- The available text consists of 19 chapters, but a close mon I it is the “due order” of the spiritual life; in Sermon scrutiny points to several layers of composition. There is II, “true spiritual life”; in Sermon III, “acknowledgment”; a conclusion at the end of 16; another one at the in Sermon IV, love; in Sermon V, passions; in Sermon end of Chapter 18; and a third one at the end of Chapter VI, the “way of God.” The second part of Sermons 1– 19. This is evidence that the text went through several V is an extensive exposition of each commandment and writings and underwent multiple reworking. its practice. In the case of Sermon VI, the second part A letter of Father Nicolò D’Aviano, dated October 10, is a detailed explanation of lukewarmness. The Sermons 1570 (even as the definitive Constitutions of 1579 were exhibit a more elaborate style than that of the Letters. being redacted), informs us that three chapters of the The language, though direct, reveals greater care and ele- Constitutions were without a doubt authored by Anthony gance. The reasoning is cogently logical and is structured Mary himself. They are Chapter 12: “Formation of on solid theological preparation. The numerous Biblical Novices”; Chapter 17: “Signs of Deteriorating 17 Reli- quotations reveal a mastery of the Scriptures. gious Life”; and Chapter 19: “Qualities of a Reformer.” 5

In addition, Anthony Mary’s hand can be recognized, 9 External links more or less, throughout the entire document. The Constitutions is a document of laws. Hence, its lit- • Barnabite Spiritual Center - Bethlehem, PA: Spiri- erary genre is juridical. However, in Anthony Mary’s ad- tuality of St. Anthony Mary Zaccaria ditions, the peremptory style turns exhortatory. We may • St. Anthony Mary’s biography and his writings page even state that this change of style helps to locate An- on the Barnabite Fathers’ North American website thony Mary’s interpolations in the original text of Battista da Crema. • Founder Statue in St Peter’s Basilica

6 See also

• Incorruptibility

7 References

[1] Kelly, Patrick Henry. “St. Antonio Maria Zaccaria.” The . Vol. 1. New York: Robert Ap- pleton Company, 1907. 30 Dec. 2013

[2] “Life of St. Anthony Mary Zaccaria”, Barnabites

[3] “St. Anthony Mary Zaccaria”, Angelic Sisters of St. Paul

[4] Foley O.F.M., Leonard, “St. ”, Saint of the Day, Lives, Lessons, and Feast, (revised by Pat Mc- Closkey, O.F.M.), Franciscan Media

[5] Mann, Benjamin. “Church honors priest and founder St. Anthony Mary Zaccaria July 5”, Catholic News Agency

[6] Medical Society of St. Anthony Mary Zaccaria

7.1 Text of the 1579 Constitutions

• *CONSTITUTIONS

8 Bibliography

• Marcello Landi, La presenza della Summa Theolo- giae di Tommaso d'Aquino nei primi due Sermoni di Antonio Maria Zaccaria in Barnabiti Studi 20 (2003), pp. 69–81

• Marcello Landi, Sant'Antonio Maria Zaccaria. Con- testo storico-culturale e presenza della Summa The- ologiae di san Tommaso d'Aquino nei suoi primi tre sermoni, in Sacra Doctrina. Studi e ricerche n. 52 (3/2006), pp. 46–81

• Fr. Franco Maria Chilardotti, CRSP, 2009 Antonio Maia Zaccaria 1502-1539 : Una meteora del cique- cento nella scia di Paolo Apostolo. 6 10 TEXT AND IMAGE SOURCES, CONTRIBUTORS, AND LICENSES

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