In 1502, St. Anthony Mary Zaccaria was born into an Italian family of nobility in Cremona. Widowed at the early age of 18, Antonietta Pescaroli instilled into her only child, Anthony, since infancy, the virtue of practical Christian charity by having him distribute alms on her behalf. As a young man, Anthony studied and practiced medicine for some time before deciding to become a Priest. He was only 26 when he received Holy Orders and barely 37 when he died in his native Cremona on 5 July 1539. Nevertheless, over those 11 years, he became well known in Milan and Cremona for his generosity to the needy and sick. Inspired by a zeal like that of St. Paul's, he labored unceasingly at overcoming the deplorable conditions into which northern Italy had fallen through the frequent wars fought on its soil and the resulting famine and plague.
In 1530, Anthony founded the Congregation of Clerks Regular of St. Paul in Milan "to regenerate and revive the love of divine worship and a truly Christian way of life by means of the sacraments." St. Anthony Mary pioneered the "40 Hours" devotion, involving continuous prayer before the Blessed Sacrament. For his success in this regard, he has been called the "Apostle of Milan." With a Crucifix in his hand, he used to go through the great city's streets, preaching about Our Lord's Passion and death, on the need for repentance and for performing penance for one's sins. St. Anthony Mary Zaccaria said, "We should love and feel compassion for those who oppose us, rather than abhor and despise them, since they harm themselves and do us good, and adorn us with crowns of everlasting glory, while they incite God's anger against themselves."
He also founded a women's religious order, the Angelic Sisters of St. Paul, and an organization, the Laity of St. Paul, for the sanctification of laypeople. Twenty-seven years after his death, his body, buried in the Church of St Paul in Milan, was found to have remained incorrupt and was transferred to the Church of St Barnabas. He was canonized by Pope Leo XIII in 1897.
St. Anthony Mary Zaccaria, obtain for us the grace to lead our lives according to the Word of God.
Jonathan Fabian Ginunggil,
Most High Servant,
Jesus, Mary, Joseph Ministry of Love (Blessed and Saints and the Nine Choirs of Angels)
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