SAINTS

St. Philip Neri

May 26
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1515-1595

Born at Florence, Italy, on July 22, he was the son of a notary and was educated by the Dominicans of San Marco in Florence. When he was eighteen, he was sent to San Germano to pursue a business career, but a mystical experience he had turned him to the religious life. He went to Rome in 1533, lived there almost as a recluse for two years while tutoring two sons of a wealthy Florentine, and then studied philosophy and theology at the Sapienza and Sant' Agostino for three years. He began to preach on the streets and in the markets to the Romans, whose religious practices had become lukewarm and were frequently neglected; the city was corrupt and the Church reflected the current malaise of the secular society. In 1548, with Fr. Persiano Rossa, his confessor, Philip founded the Confraternity of the Most Holy Trinity, composed of laypeople to minister to needy pilgrims (it developed into the famous Santa Trinita dei Pellegrini Hospital) and to spread the Forty Hours' devotion. He was ordained in 1551 and soon achieved fame as a confessor, attracting huge crowds of penitents to San Girolamo della Carita, where he lived in a community of priests. He had remarkable success in making converts and attracted many priests to aid him in ministering the in- formal conferences he devised for the throngs seeking spiritual advice and solace, and in time they became known as Oratorians because they summoned their groups to their oratory (room) for prayer. However, the actual founding of the Oratorians dates to 1564, when Philip became rector of San Giovanni Church, and five of his disciples were ordained and installed there and followed the spiritual directions he established. The new society received formal approval in 1575, by which time Philip was the most popular person in Rome, from Pope St. Gregory XIII, who gave it the rundown Church of Sta Maria in Vallicela and named Philip superior. He demolished the old church and erected a new one on its site, naming it Chiesa Nuova, which became headquarters for the Oratorians in 1577, though Philip did not come to Vallicela from San Girolamo until 1583. By this time he was known as "the Apostle of Rome" and was venerated by popes, cardinals, rulers, and ordinary people. He was consulted by rich and poor, powerful and helpless for his spiritual wisdom and his ability to look into men's minds. He experienced ecstasies and visions, was credited with performing miracles, and had the gift of prophecy. He resigned as superior in 1593 because of ill health and in the same year prevented a serious conflict between France and the Holy See when he insisted on the absolution of Henry IV. He died in Rome, May 26, was venerated as a Saint before he was canonized in 1622 by Pope Gregory XV.

VIEW IMAGES OF THE SAINT:

STAINED GLASS WINDOW IMAGE 1
TRADITIONAL PIOUS IMAGE
ECSTASY OF ST. PHILIP NERI
STAINED GLASS WINDOW IMAGE 2
THE VISION OF ST. PHILIP NERI

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