Anthony Maria Zaccaria (1502 – 5 July 1539), also known as Saint Anthony Zaccaria, was an early leader of the Counter Reformation, the founder of religious orders (Barnabites) and a promoter of the devotion to the Passion of Christ, the Eucharist and the renewal of the religious life among the lay people. His feast day is celebrated on 5 July.
Anthony Zaccaria was born in the city of Cremona, Italy, in 1502 to Lazzaro and Antonia Pescaroli Zaccaria, and was baptized on the same day in the Cathedral of Cremona, probably by his uncle Don Tommaso Zaccaria, canon of the Cathedral. When he was two his father died. His family was of the nobility, and in order to teach him compassion for the poor, his mother made him her almoner. After attending the Episcopal School annexed to the Cathedral, he studied philosophy at the University of Pavia, and, from 1520, medicine at the University of Padua. After completing studies in 1524, he practiced as a physician in Cremona for three years. In 1527, he started studying for the priesthood, and was ordained in February 1529. Having explored his calling for two years, mainly working in hospitals and institutions for the poor, he became the spiritual advisor to Countess Ludovica Torelli of Guastalla (then the tiny County of Guastalla) in 1530, and followed her to Milan. In Milan he became a member of the Oratory of Eternal Wisdom. In Vincenza, he popularized for the laity the Forty-hour devotion—solemn exposition of the Blessed Sacrament for the adoration of the faithful—accompanied by preaching. He also revived the custom of ringing church bells at 3 p.m. on Fridays, in remembrance of the Crucifixion.
While on a mission to Guastalla, Italy, in 1539, he caught a fever. Combined with the strict penances he performed, his health waned and he died on 5 July 1539, at the age of 36. The suffragan bishop, Luca di Seriate, who ordained him a priest, presided over the funeral. In attendance were the aristocratic assembly and the people of Cremona and surrounding towns. He was buried in the convent of the Angelics of St Paul, the female branch of the Barnabites, in Milan.