St. Antonius of Florence

(1389-1459)

Antonio Pierozzi was born in Florence in 1389 and was the son of a notary. At the age of sixteen, he entered the Order of Preachers at the new monastery in Fiesole, where he was received by Blessed John Dominici (1355-1419). He was ordained a priest in 1413. He was prior of friaries in Cortona, Rome, Naples and Florence. In carrying out this ministry, he made a major contribution to the reforms that John Dominici introduced after the schism, in order to return to an unbattered rule of life in the order. In the Roman monastery of Sancta Maria spora Minerva, he had the remains St. Catherine of Siena placed in a magnificent sarcophagus, where they still rest today. In Florence, on the other hand, he built the magnificent Monastery of St. Mark, which Bl. John of Fiesole - Fra Angelico (1395-1455) - decorated with frescoes. He also made the monastery's library available to students, which became the first public library in Europe. Due to his prudence and ease in solving life's difficulties, he was called "Antonio the Advisor."

Appreciation of his merits was the archbishopric of Florence; he was consecrated on March 13, 1446. He continued to lead a strict lifestyle. It is emphasized that he was so in love with the order that he always pocketed the key to his monastery cell, as he hoped that he would still return to the friar. He advocated for the poor and needy and exhorted people to perform works of mercy. He served several times as ambassador of the Florentine Republic to the Holy See.

St. Antonio was not only a religious superior and archbishop, but also a noted theologian. He left behind many works on theological and historical topics. He is best known for his Summa di morale.

Antonio died on May 2, 1459, the Eve of the Ascension of Jesus. The funeral ceremony was personally attended by Pope Paul II. In accordance with his will, Antonio was buried in a Dominican monastery in Florence. After his death, his body was preserved intact, moreover, it gave off a beautiful and intense fragrance, testifying to its sanctity. To this day, he rests in an intact tomb in St. Mark's church in Florence. He was canonized by Pope Hadrian VI in 1523. The day of his memorial falls on May 10.

In iconography, he is depicted in episcopal vestments or in the habit, but with a pastoral and pallium. As an attribute, he is accompanied by a lily, symbolizing purity, but also by the inscription "retribue," referring to the charity that St. Antonin considered as his duty.

Bibliography:

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Mortier D.-A., Saint Antonin de l'Ordre de Saint Dominique Archevêque et patron de Florence, Parisiis 1896.
Raoul Morcay A., Saint Antonin, Paris 1914.
Taurisano I., Catalogus Hagiographicus Ordinis Praedicatoorum, Romae 1918, pp. 40-41.
La chiesa fiorentina, Firenze, Curia arcivescovile, 1970.
Kominek M. K., Święci i błogosławieni Zakonu Dominikańskiego, Warszawa 2001, pp. 72-73.
Antonino Pierozzi OP (1389-1459). La figura e l’ opera di un santo arcivescovo nell’ Europa del Quattrocento; atti del convegno internazionale di studi storici (Firenze, 25-28 novembre 2009), a cura di L. Cinelli e Maria Pia Paoli, Firenze 2012 (Memorie Domenicane. N. S., 43).
Cornelison S. J., Art and the relic celt of St. Antoninus in Renaissance Florence, Farnham-Burlington 2012 (Visual Culture in Early Modernity).