Anthony Mary Zaccaria was born into an Italian family of nobility in Cremona in 1502. His father Lazzaro died when he was a toddler itself. Though his mother, Antonietta, was only 18 then, she decided to not to marry again and led a life of charity. She gave education to her son.
He went on to study medicine at the University of Padua and earned his degree at age 22 and returned to Cremona. The young doctor never had an intention of marrying or accumulating wealth. While caring for the physical conditions of his patients, he also encouraged them to find spiritual healing through repentance and the sacraments.
Anthony taught catechism to children and later he joined a seminary to become a priest leaving his profession as a doctor. He has ordained a priest at the age of 26. Church life in Cremona had suffered a decline in the late 15th and early 16th centuries. The new priest encountered widespread ignorance and religious indifference among laypersons, while many of the clergy were either weak or corrupt.
In these dire circumstances, Anthony Mary Zaccaria devoted his life to proclaiming the truths of the Gospel both clearly and charitably. Within two years, his eloquent preaching and tireless pastoral care are said to have changed the moral character of the city dramatically.
In 1530, Anthony moved to Milan, where a similar spirit of corruption and religious neglect prevailed. There, he decided to form a priestly society, the Clerics Regular of St. Paul.
Inspired by the apostle’s life and writings, the order was founded on a vision of humility, asceticism, poverty, and preaching. Later this community was known as the “Barnabites”.The priest also founded a women’s religious order, the Angelic Sisters of St. Paul; and an organization, the Laity of St. Paul, geared toward the sanctification of those outside the priesthood and religious life.
In 1539, Anthony became seriously ill and returned to his mother’s house in Cremona. The founder of the Clerics Regular of St. Paul died on July 5, during the liturgical octave of the Feast of Sts. Peter and Paul, at the age of only 36.
He was beatified by Blessed Pope Pius IX in 1849 and declared a saint by Pope Leo XIII in 1897.