A Famous Florentine

O holy Priest and Bishop, thou worker of so many mighty works, and good shepherd to Christ's flock.

St Antoninus was born into Florentine nobility and at the age of fifteen applied for admission into the Order of Preachers but was not received till the following year. His novitiate was spent in the company of the artists Fra Angelico and Fra Bartolommeo, before entering in succession the convents of Fiesole, Foligno and Cortona. He established the famous convent of Saint Mark in Florence and attended the Council held in that city before being made against his wishes Archbishop of Florence by Pope Eugene IV. The choice was providential because his episcopacy was marked by improvement to the material, moral and spiritual welfare of both clergy and laity. He was also called upon to act as ambassador for the Florentine Republic and advisor to the popes. St. Antoninus' literary endeavours encompassed domestic life, economics, history, moral theology, politics, preaching and spirtuality, the knowledge of which he had acquired himself without the aid of a master.

As a model of Christian virtue, St. Antoninus was especially known for his charity, chastity, humility, meekness, mortification, piety, prudence, wisdom and zeal. Concerning his self-learning, it is said that he was not admitted straight away because of his poor health and the prior, Bd. John Dominic, requested he recite the whole of canon law from memory as proof of his aptitude, which after a year of study St. Antoninus duly did.

Sancti Antoníni, Dómine, Confessóris tui atque Pontificis meritis adjuvemur : ut, sicut te in illo mirábilem prædicamus, ita in nos misericordem fuisse gloriémur. Per Dóminum Nostrum Jesum Christum Filium tuum, qui tecum vivat et regnat in unitate Spiritus Sancti, Deus, per omnia saecula saeculorum .