Founder of the Barnabites: 1502-1539
His life
+ Anthony Mary was born in Cremona, Italy. After working as a medical doctor, he realized his true vocation was to heal souls as well as bodies.
+ Ordained in 1528, he founded a new religious community of priests who would “regenerate and revive the love of divine worship and a properly Christian way of life by frequent preaching and faithful ministering of the sacraments.” The Clerks Regular of St. Paul are more commonly known as the “Barnabites.”
+ Anthony Mary was especially devoted to the Blessed Sacrament and the crucifix.
+ His surviving sermons reveal a gentle man who preached simple, solid faith and doctrine.
+ Saint Anthony Mary Zaccaria died in 1539 and was canonized in 1897.
Spiritual bonus
The Barnabites take their name from the Monastery of St. Barnabas, which was given to Saint Anthony Mary Zaccaria to be the home of his new community. Milan’s archbishop, Saint Charles Borromeo, had a great admiration for the work of the Barnabites and supported their early ministries. For this reason, he is honored as a patron of the community, although he himself was never a member.
Quote
“In his mercy God has chosen us, unworthy as we are, out of the world, to serve him and thus to advance in goodness and to bear the greatest possible fruit of love in patience.”—Saint Anthony Mary
To learn more about the Barnabites, visit: http://www.barnabites.com
To learn more about the Angelic Sisters of St. Paul, visit: http://www.barnabites.com/angelic-sisters
Prayer
Grant, O Lord, that in the spirit of the Apostle Paul
we may pursue the surpassing knowledge of Jesus Christ,
for, having learned it,
Saint Anthony Zaccaria
constantly preached your saving word in the Church.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
(from The Roman Missal)
~
Saint profiles prepared by Brother Silas Henderson, S.D.S.
And today we celebrate...