Antonio Maria Zaccaria

Life events

1. Born — 1502

   Anthony Zaccaria was born in Cremona, Italy, in December 1502 to Lazzaro and Antonia Pescaroli Zaccaria; his father died when he was two years old, and his mother raised him to serve as her almoner to teach him compassion for the poor.

2. Educated

   After studying philosophy at the University of Pavia, Zaccaria studied medicine at the University of Padua from 1520, completing his degree in 1524 and practising as a physician in Cremona for three years before entering theological studies at Bologna in 1527.

3. Ordained — 1529

   On 20 February 1529 Zaccaria was ordained a priest in the Chapel of Saint Joseph in Cremona Cathedral by suffragan bishop Luca di Seriate.

4. Other — 1533

   In 1533, with encouragement from Pope Clement VII, Zaccaria established community life near the church of St. Catherine at the Ponte dei Fabbri in Milan with Bartolomeo Ferrari and Giacomo Antonio Morigia; the congregation was canonically sanctioned and took its name from St. Barnabas, becoming known as the Barnabites.

5. Other — 1534

   Zaccaria was investigated for heresy in 1534 and again in 1537 because the order criticized what members perceived as abuses in the Church; he was acquitted on both occasions.

6. Wrote

   Zaccaria left twelve letters, six sermons, and a constitutive draft for the Barnabites; the last three letters — written 10–20 June 1539, within a month of his death — were addressed to an Angelic sister, a Barnabite, and a married couple, serving as his final testament to each branch of his foundation.

7. Died — 1539

   Zaccaria died on Saturday, 5 July 1539, at the age of 36, at three o'clock in the afternoon in Cremona, in the house of his birth, with his mother and first companions present; he had contracted a fever while on mission to Guastalla and his condition was worsened by strict penitential practices.

8. Translated — 1897

   Zaccaria was canonized by Pope Leo XIII on 27 May 1897; his remains are enshrined at the Church of Saint Barnabas in Milan, transferred there from his original burial at the San Paolo Convent of the Angelics of Saint Paul.

Relationships

Documented claims

• Zaccaria practised medicine in Cremona for three years after completing his degree at Padua in 1524 before entering theological studies — making him one of the few Counter-Reformation founders to hold a medical degree. (likely)
• He founded three distinct institutes: the Barnabites (Clerics Regular of St. Paul) for men, the Angelic Sisters of St. Paul for women, and the Laity of Saint Paul for married couples. (likely)
• Zaccaria is credited with 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. (likely)
• In 1534 at St. Catherine's in Milan, Zaccaria popularized the Forty-Hour Devotion — solemn continuous exposition of the Blessed Sacrament for adoration by the faithful, accompanied by preaching. (likely)
• Twenty-seven years after his death his body was found to be incorrupt; his remains are now enshrined at the Church of Saint Barnabas in Milan. (plausible)