Saint Philip Neri
Philip Neri was born in Florence. Although his uncle wished to make him his heir, he abandoned all worldly pursuits, left his family and took himself to Rome in his eighteenth year. There he spent most of his time visiting the sick, instructing the poor and ignorant, and in solitary prayer in the catacombs, where suddenly one day he felt strange heart palpitations and fracture of the ribs, which he attributed to the supernatural effects of divine love. In 1551 he became a priest and took up quarters in a little church, where he gathered round him a number of disciples and began the devotional exercises that made his name famous. These daily services, which were a great novelty, consisted of three sermons of about half an hour’s duration, delivered in a familiar style and interspersed with vernacular hymns, reading, and prayers. His object was to make religion attractive, especially to the young. During carnival or in holiday seasons he instituted musical entertainments and religious dramas. At other times he took a procession through the streets on a pilgrimage to seven churches, alternating hymns and silent prayer. In 1574 an oratory, or mission hall, was built for him in Rome. Some of his companions had been ordained as priests, and he established them as a community. Ten years later the community moved to Vallicella, where the institute of the Oratory received the formal approval of the poor, and here Philip died. He was canonized in 1622. His feast day is May 26. (Dictionary of the Saints) Photo from the Detroit Institute of Arts, Detroit, Michigan, 2025.