Anthony Maria Zaccaria, CRSP (Italian: Antonio Maria Zaccaria; 1502 – 5 July 1539) was an Italian Catholic priest and early leader of the Counter-Reformation. He was the founder of the Barnabites and a promoter of devotion to the Passion of Christ and the Eucharist and of renewal of the religious life among the laity. He is venerated as a saint in the Catholic Church, which celebrates his feast day on 5 July.
Anthony Zaccaria was born in the city of Cremona, Italy, in December 1502 to Lazzaro and Antonia Pescaroli Zaccaria. He was baptized the same day in Cremona Cathedral, probably by his uncle Don Tommaso Zaccaria, canon of the cathedral. When he was two, his father died. His family was of the nobility, and in order to teach him compassion for the poor, his mother made him her almoner.
After attending the Episcopal School annexed to the cathedral, he studied philosophy at the University of Pavia, and, from 1520, medicine at the University of Padua. After completing studies in 1524, he returned to Cremona and practised as a physician for three years. In 1527, he started studying for the priesthood, and continued his theological studies in Bologna.
On 20 February 1529 Zaccaria was ordained a priest in the Chapel of Saint Joseph in Cremona Cathedral. Having explored his calling, mainly by working in hospitals and institutions for the poor, he became spiritual advisor to Countess Ludovica Torelli of Guastalla (then the tiny County of Guastalla), and in 1530 followed her to Milan. There, he became a member of the Oratory of Eternal Wisdom, where he met Bartolomeo Ferrari and Giacomo Antonio Morigia.
Their devotions mainly focused on the teachings of St Paul with emphasis on love for the Eucharist and for Christ crucified. They were soon joined by others. They gave instruction in the rudiments of the faith, gave missions in parishes in the city and elsewhere, and cared for the sick in the hospitals. Zaccaria preached regularly in the churches and on street corners and is credited for reviving the custom of ringing church bells in Milan at 3:00 p.m. on Fridays, in remembrance of the passion and death of Jesus. Despite arousing some opposition, the group persevered undaunted.
In 1533, having received encouragement from Pope Clement VII, Zaccaria took a small house near the church of St. Catherine at the Ponte dei Fabbri, and here they began their community life. The congregation was named after the companion of St. Paul, St. Barnabas. In 1534 at St. Catherine's, he popularized the Forty-hour devotion for the laity – the solemn exposition of the Blessed Sacrament for adoration by the faithful – accompanied by preaching. In July 1535 Pope Paul III issued a Bull of approbation, confirming Anthony and his companions in their devotion to St. Paul.
In July 1537 Zaccaria accompanied the first Pauline missionaries (Barnabites, Angelic Sisters, and Laity of St. Paul) and some collaborators (Castellino da Castello and Fra Bono Lizzari) to Vicenza for the opening of the congregation's second house.
While on mission to Guastalla in 1539, he caught a fever and this, combined with the effect of strict penances he practised, lead to worsened health. In June he wrote to the Omodei family in Milan, speaking of a great "weariness of the body." He felt that his end was imminent and wanted to be brought back to Cremona on the boat operated by merchants which made regular stops (in Cremona and Casalmaggiore) on their trade route along the Po River.
Anthony Zaccaria died on Saturday, 5 July 1539, at the age of 36, at three o’clock in the afternoon, in the house where he had been born, in the arms of his mother and surrounded by his first companions.
The suffragan bishop, Luca di Seriate, who had ordained him a priest, presided over his funeral. In attendance were the aristocrats and people of Cremona and the surrounding towns. He was buried in the San Paolo Convent of the Angelics of Saint Paul, the female branch of the Barnabites, in Milan. In his last will and testament, he provided for the construction in his parish, Saint Donato, of a chapel in honor of the Conversion of St. Paul.
While in Milan, he laid the foundations of three religious institutes: one for men (the Clerics Regular of Saint Paul, commonly known as the Barnabites); a female branch of uncloistered nuns, the Angelic Sisters of St. Paul; and a lay congregation for married people, the Laity of Saint Paul, originally called the Married of Saint Paul (sometimes called the Oblates of Saint Paul in North America). The three foundations met regularly, and engaged together in various forms of apostolic action. Their aim was the reform of decadent society, beginning with the clergy and religious.
The Clerics Regular of St. Paul (the Barnabites)
"The Congregation of the Regular Clerks of St. Paul" was canonically sanctioned by Pope Clement VII in 1533. Since the order criticized what they saw as abuses in the Church, Zaccaria soon gained a number of enemies, and as the order's founder, he was twice investigated for heresy, in 1534 and 1537. He was acquitted both times. In 1536, he stepped down as General of the Order. Giacomo Antonio Morigia was elected Superior. Zaccaria went to Vicenza, where he reformed two convents and founded the Order's second house.
The Angelic Sisters of St. Paul
On 15 January 1535 Pope Paul III approved the Angelic Sisters with the Bull, Debitum pastoralis officii. On 25 December Zaccaria celebrated Mass for the first time at the Oratory of the Monastery of Saint Paul. On 27 February 1536 Zaccaria conferred the habit on six postulants of the Angelic Sisters. Zaccaria appointed Paola Antonia Negri as mistress of novices on 4 March 1537.
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. His mortal remains are now enshrined at the Church of Saint Barnabas in Milan, Italy. He was canonized by Pope Leo XIII on 27 May 1897. His feast day is celebrated on 5 July, and he is a patron saint of physicians.
In art, he is depicted wearing the black cassock of the Order and holding a lily, cross, chalice and/or a host.
He has left only a few writings: twelve letters, six sermons, and the constitution of the Barnabites.