Antoninus was born of respectable parents at Florence, and the holiness of his after life was foreshadowed in him even a little child. When he was sixteen years of age he entered the Order of Friars Preachers, and from that time forth he was a burning and a shining light to all the godly. He proclaimed a truceless war against idleness: after a short night's rest, he was the first to come to the service of Matins; when they were over he spent the rest of the night in prayer, or at least in reading, or writing out books, or if sleep altogether overcame his weary body, he would rest against the wall with his head bowed down, and then shake off slumber again, and set himself anew with fresh eagerness to his sacred watch.
He required of himself the most unflinching observance of the Rule of his Order, and never ate meat unless he were grievously ill. He slept upon the ground or upon bare boards. He always wore haircloth, and sometimes an iron girdle which bit into his naked skin. His virginity he kept ever undimmed by the least breath or shadow. He was so skilful in giving advice that he gained the common nickname of Antoninus the Counsellor. At the same time so beautifully brilliant was his lowliness, that even when he was at the head of houses and provinces of his Order, he most cheerfully undertook all the meanest services of the houses where he was. Eugenius IV appointed him Archbishop of Florence, and he took it so ill, that it was only when awed by the threats of the Apostolic See that he obeyed, and accepted the dignity.
As Archbishop it can hardly be told how noble he was, in wisdom, in godliness, in love, in meekness, in priestly zeal. It was wonderful to see how thoroughly he taught himself nearly all the sciences, without the help of a master. At last, after much work, and publishing many valuable books on Doctrine, he received the Holy Eucharist and was anointed, and then, clasping the image of his crucified Saviour to his heart, joyfully welcomed death, on the 2nd day of May, in the year 1459. He was remarkable for the working of miracles, both during his life and after his death, and Adrian VI enrolled his name among those of the Saints in the year 1523.
He required of himself the most unflinching observance of the Rule of his Order, and never ate meat unless he were grievously ill. He slept upon the ground or upon bare boards. He always wore haircloth, and sometimes an iron girdle which bit into his naked skin. His virginity he kept ever undimmed by the least breath or shadow. He was so skilful in giving advice that he gained the common nickname of Antoninus the Counsellor. At the same time so beautifully brilliant was his lowliness, that even when he was at the head of houses and provinces of his Order, he most cheerfully undertook all the meanest services of the houses where he was. Eugenius IV appointed him Archbishop of Florence, and he took it so ill, that it was only when awed by the threats of the Apostolic See that he obeyed, and accepted the dignity.
As Archbishop it can hardly be told how noble he was, in wisdom, in godliness, in love, in meekness, in priestly zeal. It was wonderful to see how thoroughly he taught himself nearly all the sciences, without the help of a master. At last, after much work, and publishing many valuable books on Doctrine, he received the Holy Eucharist and was anointed, and then, clasping the image of his crucified Saviour to his heart, joyfully welcomed death, on the 2nd day of May, in the year 1459. He was remarkable for the working of miracles, both during his life and after his death, and Adrian VI enrolled his name among those of the Saints in the year 1523.
The Tomb of St. Antoninus in the Dominican Church of San Marco, Florence
