St. Antoninus - To Serve God Is To Reign

Saint Antoninus has a solid argument for being one of the most influential figures in Florence’s history. Born in the same year as the notorious Cosimo de’ Medici, Antoninus found himself alive during a drastically unstable period of history: the Renaissance.

Saint Antoninus was, although endearing, a pathetically frail boy. The preaching of Blessed Giovanni Dominici inspired him in his Christian Faith and eventually led him to want to join the Order. Brother Giovanni Dominici deemed little Antoninus way too frail for the ascetic rigor of religious life, so he handed him the massive and boring book The Decretum and told him to memorize it within a year. Obviously, the task seemed impossible.

Of course, maybe Brother Giovanni should have peeked at Luke 1:37, for one year later, Antoninus returns to the Dominican priory and shocks the world. He received the habit and began his Dominican life.

I believe that the reason why Antoninus is a canonized saint in the Catholic Church isn’t because he performed miracles, died a martyr, or even went to distant lands to proclaim the Gospel. He’s a saint because he followed God’s will where he was; he lived a good Christian life.

His holiness hit the limelight when he was appointed archbishop of Florence. As archbishop, the splendor of a life with and in Christ shone through Antoninus. His intellectual works, his camaraderie with the brothers and his flock, his care for the sick and the poor, and even the beautification of his cathedral all exemplified the beauty of our Catholic faith. He lived with Fra Angelico for many years, and established the priory of San Marco as the center of Christian art.

Even the often contentious Cosimo de’ Medici admitted the city of Florence wouldn’t have survived without “our holy archbishop.” Saint Antoninus of Florence’s last words were, “To serve God is to reign.”