Barnabite Origins 3. Anthony Mary Zaccaria - Writings 3. Constitutions

St. Anthony Mary Zaccaria [by Cristina Bellazzi]

We have no original manuscript of the Constitutions. We do have a very early copy. This document is no more than an extended outline. It was never approved nor promulgated, hence, it was never binding. In all probability, it is a reworked translation of a previous Latin outline by Fra Battista, the so-called "Primitive Constitutions". It was a basic text worked on by the first Fathers toward a definitive text. The available text consists of 19 chapters, but a close scrutiny points to several layers of composition. There is a conclusion at the end of Chapter 16; another one at the end of Chapter 18; and a third one at the end of Chapter 19. This is evidence that the text went through several writings and underwent multiple reworkings. A letter of Father Nicolò D’ Aviano, dated October 10, 1570 (even as the definitive Constitutions of 1579 were being redacted) informs us that three chapters of the Constitutions were without a doubt authored by Anthony Mary himself. They are: Chapter 12: "Formation of Novices"; Chapter 17: "Signs of Deteriorating Religious Life"; and Chapter 19: "Qualities of a Reformer." In addition, Anthony Mary’s hand can be recognized, more or less, throughout the entire document. This is a document of laws. Hence, its literary genre is juridical. However, in Anthony Mary’s additions the peremptory style turns exhortatory. We may even state that this change of style helps to locate Anthony Mary’s interpolations in the original text of Battista da Crema.

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