The Catholic Church honors Saint Anthony Mary Zaccaria on July 5. He established the priestly order currently known as the Barnabites and was a well-known preacher and advocate for Eucharistic adoration.

In the year 1502, Anthony Mary Zaccaria was born in Cremona into a noble Italian family. Anthony's father Lazzaro passed away shortly after Anthony was born. Anthony's mother Antonietta, who was only 18 years old at the time, decided not to remarry in favor of focusing on her son's education and charitable work.

Anthony shared his mother's love for God and compassion for the underprivileged. In his youth, he received tutoring in Latin and Greek; later, he was sent to Pavia to study philosophy. After completing his medical studies at the University of Padua at the age of 22, he traveled back to Cremona.

The young doctor had no desire to marry or amass a fortune, despite his privileged upbringing and secular profession. In addition to treating his patients' bodily ailments, he also urged them to seek spiritual healing through confession and the sacraments. Anthony also participated in the religious education of young adults after teaching catechism to children. He ultimately decided to stop practicing medicine, and with the support of his spiritual direction, he started studying to become a priest.

Anthony was ordained a priest at the age of 26, and it is believed that during his first Mass, he was surrounded by a supernatural light and a great number of angels during the consecration of the Eucharist. The incident was marveled at by contemporary witnesses, who testified about it in court after his death.

In the latter half of the 15th and the beginning of the 16th century, Cremona's church life had deteriorated. The majority of the clergy were either weak or corrupt, and the new priest met widespread ignorance and religious indifference among the general populace.

Anthony Mary Zaccaria dedicated his life to sharing the Gospel's moral and benevolent principles during these dreadful conditions. His persuasive preaching and unceasing pastoral care are reported to have significantly altered the moral character of the community in less than two years.

Anthony relocated to Milan in 1530, where there was a similar culture of corruption and disregard for religion. There, he decided to establish the Clerics Regular of St. Paul, a priestly society. The order was established on the principles of humility, asceticism, poverty, and preaching, all of which were inspired by the apostle's life and writings. Following the founder's passing, they were given control of a significant church with the name St. Barnabas, earning them the moniker "Barnabites."

The Angelic Sisters of St. Paul, a women's religious order, and the Laity of St. Paul, a group dedicated to sanctifying people outside of the priesthood and convent life, were also created by the priest.

Anthony was hospitalized in 1539 and went back to live with his mother in Cremona. On July 5, during the liturgical octave of the Feast of Sts. Peter and Paul, the 36-year-old passed away. Incorrupt remains of St. Anthony Mary Zaccaria were discovered nearly three decades after his passing. Blessed Pope Pius IX beatified him in 1849, and Pope Leo XIII canonized him in 1897.

St. Anthony is known for instituting the Friday church bell ringing, the forty-hour prayer ceremony, and the use of altar sacraments. He is the patron saint of the Barnabite order and is represented in liturgical art by wearing a habit.

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