Saint Philip Neri

Filippo Romolo Neri was born in Florence in 1515, the son of Francesco di Neri, a lawyer and notary, and Lucrezia da Mosciano, a woman of noble lineage in the service of the State. His mother died early, in 1520, and the boy was carefully raised by his stepmother Alessandra and, above all, by the Dominican friars of the famous Monastery of San Marco — the very house that had once been Savonarola’s. Philip would always credit much of who he became to the teaching of two of those friars, Zenobio de’ Medici and Servanzio Mini. From childhood he stood out for a cheerful spirit, and at the same time for a deep recollection in prayer.

At eighteen, in 1533, he was sent to San Germano, near Monte Cassino, to help with the business of a wealthy uncle, Romolo, in the hope of inheriting his fortune. Philip won his uncle’s affection, but during his stay he underwent a profound conversion: there, in a small mountain chapel belonging to the Benedictines, he sensed that the world was not enough. He gave it all up — inheritance and a merchant’s career — and set out for Rome that same year, with no money, no plan, only the certainty that God wanted him there.

In Rome he lived as a layman for seventeen years. He was a tutor in the home of the Florentine nobleman Galeotto Caccia, studied for three years under the Augustinians, and began walking the city in search of people to talk with about God. He visited hospitals, cared for the sick and the poor, even reached out to prostitutes — always with that joyful freedom that disarmed people. From 1538 on, this missionary work in the streets became his hallmark, and a group of disciples gathered around him. Around 1544 he struck up a friendship with Saint Ignatius of Loyola, and many of his own spiritual sons would end up entering the newborn Society of Jesus.

Once ordained a priest, Philip transformed those informal gatherings of prayer, spiritual reading, music, and conversation into something new in the Church: the Oratory. From it would be born the Congregation of the Oratory, a society of secular clergy devoted to preaching, spiritual direction, and pastoral care. Almost without realizing it, he invented the pilgrimage route of the Seven Churches of Rome, and he gave new life to the laude and the oratorios, sacred musical forms that would shape centuries to come. His reputation as a saint and director of souls swept through Rome: popes, cardinals, ordinary people — all passed through his confessional. He even interceded decisively in the reconciliation of King Henry IV of France with the Catholic Church.

He died in Rome on May 26, 1595, after spending an entire day hearing confessions and guiding his spiritual sons. He was nearly eighty, and his heart was enlarged with love — literally, according to his biographers: it was said that two of his ribs had risen up to make room for a heart set ablaze by the Holy Spirit. He was canonized in 1622, on the very same day that Saint Ignatius of Loyola, Saint Teresa of Ávila, Saint Francis Xavier, and Saint Isidore the Farmer were raised to the altars — one of the greatest canonizations in the history of the Church.