ST. ANTONINUS OF FLORENCE

Antonio Pierozzi was born on 1 March 1389 in the city of Florence, the capital of an independent Republic. He was received into the Dominican Order in 1405 at the age of sixteen & was soon appointed to administrate various houses of his Order at Cortona, Rome, Naples, as well as Florence Friar Antoninus had a great reputation for theological learning and served as the Papal theologian for the Council of Florence in A.D. 1439. He was also a prolific writer, authoring texts on moral theology, canon law, a guide for confessors, and a chronicle of the history of the world. Antoninus was also widely known and sought-out for his gift of counsel, earning the popular title -"the Angel of Counsels."

Under threat of excommunication, if he refused, Friar Antoninus was consecrated Archbishop of Florence on 13 March 1446, at the Dominican priory in Fiesole, on the initiative of Pope Eugene IV. He won the esteem and love of his people and remained, fundamentally, a man of prayer. When plague and later earthquakes struck his flock in 1448 and 1453, he was seen night and day delivering provisions and assistance to his flock with a donkey laden with supplies and a small group of assistants.

Antoninus died on 2 May 1459, and Pope Pius II conducted his funeral & also granted special indulgences to the faithful for their veneration of Antoninus. In art, St. Antoninus is often seen holding a set of scales. This is because an inhabitant of Florence once brought the archbishop a beautiful new year's fruit basket in the secret hopes of receiving a great reward. However, St. Antoninus simply thanked the donor and sent him away with the words: "May God reward you." Because he received no reward, the man went off discontented. When St. Antoninus later learned of the man's discontentment, he called for him to come before him again. When the donor did, St. Antoninus had the fruit basket placed on one side of a set of scales and a slip of paper on the other side bearing the words: "May God reward you!" When this was done, the scales registered that the slip of paper far outweighed the fruit basket.

"To  serve God is to reign !"