Saint of the Day

01 · Read · A life to discover

St. Anthony Mary Zaccaria

Anthony Mary Zaccaria was born in Cremona and trained in medicine before becoming a priest. His religious work centered on renewal of Christian life through preaching, prayer, and communities inspired by the apostle Paul.

His medical education preceded his pastoral work rather than serving as an incidental detail. In both settings he encountered the needs of people directly. The Pauline character of his foundations emphasized an active renewal of Christian living rather than a withdrawal from the difficulties of contemporary society.

The Angelic Sisters were intended to collaborate in that mission. Their later history included a period of imposed enclosure and eventual restoration of an active apostolate. Distinguishing those stages prevents later arrangements from being mistaken for the whole of Zaccaria’s original vision.

He helped establish the Barnabites in 1533 and the Angelic Sisters in 1535, connecting the work of priests, religious women, and laypeople. His short life left institutions that continued beyond his death in 1539. Leo XIII canonized him in 1897, and his feast is July 5. Reports of extraordinary experiences belong to his devotional biography and should not replace the documented history of his foundations.

This saint is included on this recurring date in the U.S. Roman Rite calendar published by the USCCB. This reading guide gives U.S. calendar saints priority; the Mass celebrated on a particular year’s date can differ because of Sundays, seasons or higher-ranking celebrations.