ANTONIO CONTARINI. — Regular canon of Rhenish observance and tenth Patriarch of Venice. A scion of two noble Venetian families, he was the son of Luigi and Orsola Barbo. He embraced the religious life in the flourishing Congregation of the Canons Regular of the Saviour. After his profession, he remained at S. Antonio di Castello near Venice from 1470 to 1490.
He then served as prior at S. Maria Maggiore in Treviso (1490–1493 and 1495–1502), at S. Antonio di Castello (1493–95), and at S. Salvatore in Venice (1503–1508). He also served as visitor of the Congregation (1502–1503 and 1505–1508). At S. Maria di Castello and in Treviso, he spent several years together with his confrere Bl. Arcangelo Canetoli. At the unanimous request of the Senate, he was created Patriarch on 17 November 1506. He governed the Venetian Church with great zeal and effectively promoted reform among the secular and regular clergy, as well as in various convents of nuns. He died on 7 October 1524 and was buried in the chapel of the Holy Cross, which he had erected in the patriarchal church.