Biography
Antoninus of Florence
About Antoninus of Florence
Antoninus was born in Florence as Antonio Pierozzi on 1 March 1389. The Catholic Encyclopedia says that at about fifteen he sought admission to the Dominican Order from the reformer Giovanni Dominici; he received the habit in 1405 and made his novitiate at Cortona. He served in Dominican houses and leadership posts as the Observant reform movement expanded. Harvard’s scholarly biographical catalog records alternative forms of his name, including Antoninus Florentinus and Antonio Pierozzi, and identifies him as archbishop of Florence beginning in 1446.Pope Eugene IV appointed Antoninus to the archbishopric of Florence in 1446. The Catholic Encyclopedia describes his efforts to avoid high office and his subsequent pastoral work; Treccani summarizes his diocesan reorganization, the metropolitan synod he held in 1451, and his defense of civic liberties in Florence. He wrote on moral theology, ascetic practice, and history. Treccani identifies the *Summa theologica* (also called *Summa moralis*) and the *Chronicon* or *Summa historialis* among his principal works. These writings offer direct evidence of his thought, while the institutional history here is drawn from later reference works.Antoninus died at Montughi near Florence on 2 May 1459. Treccani says he was buried at San Marco; the Catholic Encyclopedia records his canonization by Adrian VI on 31 May 1523. The 2004 Roman Martyrology places his commemoration on May 2, the date of his death. The older Roman Martyrology places his feast on May 10 while identifying May 2 as his dies natalis; the Basilica of San Marco records a local May 10 celebration. His later titles do not erase the distinction between the historical record of his public work and devotional accounts of miracles.
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