Saint Philip Neri
Feast day: May 26
Saint Philip Neri, a priest in Rome who brought the joy of God to everyone (26/05)
Who is he?
Saint Philip Neri was an Italian priest who lived in the 16th century. He helped a great many people in Rome come back to God through his kindness, his sense of humor and his deep life of prayer. People called him “the apostle of Rome.”
Life story
Philip was born on 21 July 1515 in the city of Florence. Around 1533, the young man came to Rome. He lived very simply, visiting the poor and the sick in the hospitals by day, and often praying at night in the catacombs (the underground cemeteries of the early Christians). According to tradition, once while he was praying there, he felt the Holy Spirit enter his heart like a ball of fire, setting his heart ablaze with love for God.
With his friends, he started a group to care for poor pilgrims and people just recovering from illness. In 1551, he was ordained a priest. Very many people came to him for confession. In the afternoons, he invited young people to a prayer room called the Oratory, where they read spiritual books together, listened to preaching, sang hymns, and then had fun. He also led them on walking pilgrimages to visit the seven great churches of Rome, praying, singing and eating lunch outdoors along the way. In 1575, the Pope officially approved the Congregation of the Oratory that he had founded.
He loved to joke. He taught that joy helps us move quickly along the road to holiness, and that when we are sad, we should just go to God, and he will give us back our joy. He died in Rome on 26 May 1595, at the age of 79. In 1622, Pope Gregory XV declared him a saint.
Why is he a saint?
Saint Philip Neri loved God with all his heart and loved everyone, especially the poor, the sick and the young. He showed that true joy comes from God. Saint Paul’s words fit him well: always rejoice in the Lord; I say it again, rejoice! (cf. Phil 4:4).
A lesson for you
- Bring a smile to your friends, especially a friend who is sad.
- Go to confession and pray often, because that is where true joy comes from.
Identifying marks
- An old man with white hair and beard, smiling, eyes raised to heaven: he is famous as the cheerful saint, who prayed so intensely that he forgot everything around him.
- A white lily in his hand: a sign of the pure heart he kept all his life.
- A hand on his chest: according to tradition, while he was praying, the Holy Spirit set his heart on fire with love.
- A red chasuble with gold trim over a white alb (a long white robe): pictures and statues often show him in priestly vestments, celebrating Mass.
- A church dome in the distance and the tiled roofs of Rome: he lived and worked in Rome for more than sixty years.
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