Feast of Saint Philip Neri

Feast day : 26 May

Today the Church celebrates the Feast of Saint Philip Neri who lived during the period AD 1515 to 1595 in Rome. He was an Italian priest who founded the Congregation of the Oratory, a community of Catholic priests and lay brothers. He continued serving in his missions in the Oratory till his death on May 26 1595 at the age of 80 years. His body is venerated in the Chiesa Nuova ("New Church") in Rome. He was an evangelist and is known as the Third Apostle of Rome after St.Peter and St.Paul. He was beatified by Pope Paul V in 1615 and canonized by Pope Gregory XV in 1622. He is the patron saint of Rome, US Special Forces and of humour and fun.

Early life:

Philip was born to Francesco di Neri and Lucrezia da Mosciano in Florence, Italy in the year 1515. He received his early teaching from the Dominican monastery in Florence. At the age of 18, he was sent to his uncle in San Germano to assist him in his business. It was here that he has a religious conversion and soon lost interest in worldly affairs. In 1533 he came to Rome and became a tutor to a Florentine aristocrat. He tutored for money and began studying philosophy and theology under the guidance of the Augustinians for a period of three years. When he got tired of studying, he sold all his books and gave the money to the poor. He soon increasingly spent more time in prayer, fully embracing the life of a hermit. It was his prayer life that kept him full of joy. He ate only once a day and mostly bread and water. Though he had a bed he opted to sleep on the floor. He had few possessions, endured great spiritual attacks and experienced ecstasies and visions during his long hours of intense prayers. During one such night of intense prayer he felt a “globe of fiery light” enter into his mouth and sink into his heart. He felt great pain in his chest and witnesses said that the side of his heart was noticeably swollen and appeared like a fist in his chest.

Later he felt a calling to give up his hermit life and go out and preach the Gospel. Soon he began to go out into the streets and care for the sick and poor. He also ministered to the prostitutes of the city. His endeavours earned him the title ‘Apostle of Rome’. From then on for 17 years he travelled through the city, entering into conversation with people and leading them to Jesus. He was funny and charming and soon had many followers who joined him in caring for the sick and poor. In 1548 alongwith his confessor Persiano Rossa, he founded the Confraternity of the Most Holy Trinity of Pilgrims and Convalescents with the objective to minister to the thousands of poor pilgrims who came to Rome and to care for poor patients who could not earn a living after their illness.

Life as a priest:

In 1551 at the age of 36 he was ordained a priest. He was influenced by Saint Francis Xavier and wanted to go on a mission to India but was dissuaded by his friends. So he settled down in Rome with some of his companions at the Hospital of San Girolamo della Carita. In the meeting room of the hospital he and his followers and companions would gather at night to talk, preach, pray and listen to music. These meetings later led him to found the Oratory. Soon they began undertaking several missions throughout Rome, mostly preaching the Gospel in different churches in Rome. He also used his super natural energy to hear confessions. He was given a miraculous gift of reading souls and could tell people their sins even before they began their confession. When St. Philip celebrated the Holy Mass, his face used to radiate light and occasionally he was found to levitate during the consecration in a state of ecstasy and sparks would visibly shoot from his eyes. In addition to these gifts he also had the gift of bilocation and the gift of prophecy. But inspite of all these extraordinary graces he was very humble and loved to have fun. He adopted unconventional ways to instil faith in people and live life the Christian way. In 1553 he started the tradition of making one day pilgrimages to seven churches in Rome beginning with St. Peter’s Basilica. This came to be called the ‘Seven Churches Walk’ and became very popular among the people.

As the community grew, and its mission work extended, the need for a church was felt. The small parish church of Santa Maria in Vallicella was pulled down, and a splendid church erected on the site. Immediately after this St. Philip formalised the Oratory under the permission of a papal bull by Pope Gregory XIII dated 15 July 1575 making it a community of secular priests and lay brothers called the Congregation of the Oratory. The new church was consecrated early in 1577.

He continued serving in his missions in the Oratory till his death on May 26 1595 at the age of 80 years. His body is venerated in the Chiesa Nuova ("New Church") in Rome. After his death, an autopsy of his body revealed an abnormally large heart. The spiritual ecstasy and vision that he had was thus proven to be true. Shortly after his death he was beatified by Pope Paul V in 1615 and canonized by Pope Gregory XV in 1622.