AN

INTERVIEW WITH THE AUTHOR

14 Feb . 2014

ANGELO MONTONATI

BARNABITE
PUBLICATIONS

ANGELO Angelo
MONTONATI
Monto

was born in Varese, Italy, in 1931. He has been a

professional journalist since 1959, working for various periodicals and for
Vatican Radio. From 1969 to 1982, he was a special envoy to Vatican. He
worked for the most popular Italian weekly magazine Famiglia Cristiana,
and for ten years was editor in chief of the monthly magazine Jesus.
An expert in religious topics, Montonati is particularly interested in the
series of the saints, especially of the founders and foundresses of religious
congregations. He devoted fifty biographies to them, some of which have
been translated into English, French, German, Spanish, and Portuguese.
Among his books are particularly noteworthy interviews with the
Australian couple John and Evelyn Billings, apostles of natural family
planning: with the Community of SantEgidio; and with Fr. Livio
Fanzaga, head of the international broadcaster Radio Maria.

An Interview with the Author

Angelo Montonati - Igniting the Flame of Faith
1. In your biography, it says that you have written fifty biographies of saints, some of which
have been translated into several languages. What motivated you to write about our saint?

became interested in religious topics in

1966, after working for several years with
Vatican Radios news program and for various
periodicals, such as the weekly magazine
Famiglia Cristiana as its Vatican envoy, the
monthly magazine Jesus as editor-in-chief, and
the Catholic newspaper of Como, LOrdine, as
director. This type of activity put me in touch
with a number of priests and religious,
including Fr. Antonio Gentili. I have directed
several periodicals of religious orders and
congregations, including those of the Brothers
Hospitallers of St. John of God of the
Lombardy-Veneto province, the Daughters of
Jesus the Good Shepherd (founded by Servant
of God Giulia Colbert, marchioness of Barolo),
and the Maestre Pie dellAddolorata (their
periodical Insieme per, of which I am now the

head). This has given me the opportunity to

write biographies of St. John of God, St.
Benedict Menni, St. Richard Pampuri, the
martyrs of the Brothers Hospitallers in the war
in Spain, Blessed Olallo Valds, Servants of
God William Gagnon and Francesco Camacho
(both from the Hospitaller Order of St. John of
God), Blessed Elisabetta Renzi, and Servant of
God Giulia Colbert. This has resulted in
numerous requests from other congregations.
Since then I have not stopped writing. The
biographies, such as the one on St. Anthony
Mary Zaccaria, now number fifty (the next will
come out around Easter). The other shorter
works number twenty. My acquaintance with
Fr. Antonio Gentili has encouraged me to talk
about your great founder, with whose story I
was immediately fascinated. !

2. What particular aspect or quality of St. Anthony Mary struck you most, and what part of
his life became significant to you?

he prophetic vision of Anthony Mary in his

life of faith immediately caught my attention.
In fact, in his plan, which is realized under the
inspiration of the Holy Spirit, he involves the
whole people of God without any hierarchical
discrimination. The three institutesthe Clerics
Regular (Barnabites), the nuns dedicated to the
apostolate (Angelics), and the laity (the Married of
St. Paul)represent a whole because they are
conceived as members of one body that tend to the
same goal: perfection of Christian life, or holiness.
And here it is worth highlighting his courageous
promotion of the role of women as well as
laypeople in the Church. The originality of this
prophetic formula was not immediately
understood. In fact, it was even hindered and
eventually suppressed as something on the edge of
heresy. Only today do we rediscover his incendiary

strength. Another particularly evocative fact is that

we are dealing with a professional who belonged to
the category of doctors, who were especially
inclined toward skepticism in matters of faith at
that time. But when Anthony Mary posed the
problem of how to live as a Christian, he did not
doubt. He renounced the bright prospects of a job
that would have given him prestige and wealth in
order to follow Christ, becoming an extraordinary
leader who was able to rekindle the fire of faith
and charity. I continue to wonder why Zaccaria is
still not known as he truly deserves to bewhy we
do not think of him when we celebrate the Forty
Hours devotion, which he promoted with seraphic
ardor, and on every Friday at three oclock when
the bells remind us of the passion and death of
Christ. This was his idea; its good that one knows.
!

3. Do you know any Barnabite priests or Angelic Sisters or members of the Laity of St. Paul?
Were they the ones who introduced you to St. Anthony Mary?

s I indicated above, my acquaintance and

friendship with Fr. Gentili, a Barnabite
whom I admire very much and who then
belonged to the community of Eupilio (I was
living in Vertematein the province of Como, a
short distance from this retreat house), has been
instrumental in the composition of this book.
He has written several books on the founder
and the spirituality of the Order. When I went
to Eupilio, I was able to read some of his

articles in the Quaderni di vita barnabitica,

published in 1980. It is from here that I took
some quotes for the book. Father Gentili knew
that I had already written thirty books, mostly
biographies of saints, blesseds, and servants of
God. So, he made the proposal of writing a
book on St. Anthony; I accepted immediately
because he had assured me of his full support in
making this book possible. !

4. How did you come up with the title of the book?

he title of the book is connected to another

fundamental intuition of Zaccaria, who
perceived lukewarmness as the greatest enemy
to overcome. Cremona at that time was in such
a disastrous condition in terms of faith. The
diocese had not had a residential bishop since
1476. Bishops were preoccupied with other
matters. Many priests gave bad examples and
had become too worldly, as stated by the first
biographer of the saint, Fr. Francesco Moltedo.
Not by chance, in those days was circulating in
Lombardy a saying that if you want to go to
hell, be a priest. Zaccaria starts from the poor
and the sick, doing all things for everyone, and
then goes from the pulpit to the confessional,
with his fiery words that caused unexpected but
lasting conversions. There is much to admire
and reflect upon in what he said to his first two
companions, Ferrari and Morigia: Come on,
brothers, let us run like madmen not only

toward God but also toward our neighbors,

who alone can be the recipients of what we
cannot give to God. The crisis of faith was not
only among the people but also among the
clergy, the monks, and the nuns: laxity and
corruption had penetrated even into the
monasteries. Against lukewarmness, the saint
used the weapon of his sermons, characterized
by a language that could shake the conscience,
and then followed courageous gestures that
have the effect of a fire. For example, one day
the Milanese saw him coming out from Santa
Caterina de Fabbri clutching a crucifix and
talking in the street about Christ to people who
immediately crowded around him, even if only
out of curiosity. Zaccaria was convinced that it
was necessary to challenge people on the street
and to involve them emotionally, in an intense
and provocative manner, through public
penance and the practice of strict poverty. !

5. What has been your experience in writing this book? Were the materials for this book
readily accessible to you?

did not have any difficulty finding the

materials for this book. As I indicated above,
Fr. Gentili was helpful in providing me with
the necessary documentation and clarifying
things for me when I had some doubts. In

addition, since the events of the life of Zaccaria

took place around Cremona, Milan, and
Guastalla, I went in personas I usually do in
these casesto these locations to see up close
the places that still remind us of him. !

6. How long did it take you to write the book?

he preparation of the text took about a year

and a half of work, because I had
commitments that took away much of my
timefor example, my work as director of the
periodicals of the Maestre Pie dellAddolorata
and the Daughters of Jesus the Good Shepherd;
broadcasts for Radio Maria every first Sunday of
the month; and my occasional collaboration
with and contributions to Famiglia Cristiana

and Jesus. Besides this, I also work as an

organist in our parish choir. Father Gentilis
close assistance has certainly facilitated the
whole thing, along with the fact that the figure
of your founder has truly fascinated me. Thus,
we were able to publish the book in 2002,
celebrated as the jubilee year for the 500th
anniversary of the birth of St. Anthony Mary
Zaccaria. !

7. Our saint is not as famous as, for instance, Francis of Assisi, Dominic, Ignatius of Loyola,
or John Bosco. Did you feel that you were taking a risk in focusing on a lesser-known
saint?

am of the opinion that St. Anthony Mary

Zaccaria, although less widely known
compared to Francis, Dominic, Ignatius, and
John Bosco, is no less important than they are;
not surprisingly, in the foreword of the book,
Pope Benedict XVI, then Cardinal Joseph
Ratzinger, called him one of the great figures
of Catholic reform in the sixteenth century,
engaged as he was in the renewal of Christian
life in an era of profound crisis in faith and
customs. One thing that impressed me

immediately after reading the documents of his

journey to holiness was how in a couple of years
he managed to change the face of his Cremona,
earning the nickname father of the homeland!
And just the fact that he was less known than
the other great founders motivated me as a
writer to talk about himI enjoyed the
thought of publishing a scoop. I have received
confirmation from the many readers who have
thanked me for helping them discover an
extraordinary saint. !

8. Was it your personal intention to talk about St. Anthony Mary Zaccaria, or did you have
external reasons that moved you to do so?

ertainly, it was my intention to speak

about St. Anthony Mary Zaccaria, because
for years I had chosen these kinds of stories
the lives of the saints, considering them as an
instrument of the apostolate. The founders and
foundressessaints, blesseds, venerables, or
servants of Godare figures that a Christian
must strive to make known, in part to fight a
certain ignorance, sometimes the result of

prejudice, regarding the Catholic Church and

its protagonists. This is also why I started the
monthly program entitled I sempre giovani (the
forever young) on Radio Maria, and on
January 6, 2002, during such a full celebration
of the Zaccarian jubilee year, I presented St.
Anthony Mary Zaccaria. In addition, a few
months ago I wrote an article dedicated to him
for the online edition of Famiglia Cristiana. !

10. What impresses you most about St. Anthony Mary Zaccaria, and what message do you
intend to give to your readers with this book?

hat impresses me most of all is how he

incorporated laypeople, and even women, into
his courageous revolution. We know that it
brought him the hostility of even men of the
Church, who were scandalized by him and
from the pulpits began to inveigh against his
new order. But the reaction of the saint was the
opposite of what his detractors were expecting:
knowing he had God on his side, he urged his
companions to be calm and to consider
themselves fortunate to suffer humiliation for
the sake of Christ. In the height of the storm,
he wrote a beautiful text inspired by the famous
words of St. Paulwe are fools for Christs
sakeand the beatitudes. As they persecuted
Christ, he argued, so also His followers: Those
who persecute us, he said, are hurting
themselves, because they provoke Gods wrath
against themselves. At the same time they
benefit us, because they enhance our crown of
eternal glory. We, therefore, instead of hating
and detesting them, have to pity them and love
them. Indeed, we have to pray for them. And
when the court recognized the inconsistency of
the accusations made against the religious
group,
the
saint,
besides
forgiving
wholeheartedly their accusers, insisted that the
decisionwhich would have put to shame their
accusers before all Milannot be made public.
What strikes me also is his harmony with St.
Paul. (I have worked with the Paulines of
Blessed James Alberione, and I am still a

member of the Association of Pauline

Cooperators.) According to the biographers of
Zaccaria, when he quoted the words of St. Paul,
there could be felt from his voice and face a
flaming fire, which even moved people
emotionally. He spoke from the heart, and his
words went straight to the hearts of his
audience. Evidently, he had chosen the Apostle
as his model because he discovered in himself
an uncommon consonance with the Apostle in
terms of character. Being the decision maker
that he was, Zaccaria especially liked in St. Paul
his resolute convictions, his self offering, his
mixture of intransigence and tenderness toward
his followers, and his decisive response to
Christ. Here, it seems to me that St. Anthony
Marys message can be found in his existential
journey toward God, which took place in an
era that, with regard to religious practice, is not
greatly different from our own. In fact, we also
live in a context of lukewarmness,
materialism, and practical atheism. He invites
us to let go of the exterior so that we can
enter into the interior, that is, gather
ourselves together so that we can live in
familiarity with God, nourishing ourselves
through prayer and the Eucharist and avoiding
work, entertainment, social relationships, and
personal concerns that might attract too much
of our attention or overwhelm us such that we
no longer have any room for spirituality. !

10. Do you believe that St. Anthony Mary Zaccaria has some significance for our readers
today? How is our saint relevant to our rapidly changing world?

think I have already partially answered this

question. The Church, when it beatifies or
canonizes someone, proposes a model to
imitate, because this persons message is valid
for all time. It is no coincidence that for my
monthly program on Radio Maria I chose the
title I sempre giovani. Saint Anthony Mary
Zaccaria has much to say to todays society.
Again in the foreword of the book, Pope
Benedict XVI said, Saint Anthony Mary
Zaccaria, born exactly five centuries ago,
deserves to be rediscovered for his moral
greatness, his appeal to the fundamental values
of Christianity, and his perennial example of
evangelical radicalism. His entire earthly life

first as a young layperson, doctor, and catechist

and then as a priest and religiouswas
dominated by what the liturgy of July 5 calls
the supereminent science of Jesus Christ and
was animated by the folly of the Cross as
acquired at the school of the learned Paul, his
model and mentor. In this light we behold his
extraordinary devotion to those fundamental
mysteries of our Faith, Christ Crucified and the
Eucharist, which he perceived with pious
intuition to be the living Crucified. If we
want to summarize St. Anthony Marys message
more simply, we can use his own words: Let us
run like madmen not only toward God but also
toward our neighbors. !

NOTE:
The interview and its English
translation by Sr. Rorivic M.
Israel, ASP. & Fr. Robert B.
Kosek, CRSP. We express our
sincere appreciation to the
Barnabite Community of San
Barnaba in Milan for providing
a welcoming venue to conduct
the interview with Prof. Angelo
Montonati.