The suffering which this brought on Alphonsus, with his sensitive and high-strung disposition, was very great, besides what was worse, the relaxation of discipline and loss of vocations which it caused in the Order itself. Feast day: August 1. He was baptized two days later in the church of Our Lady of the Virgins, in Naples. Alphonsus Liguori. Alphonsus was not sent to school but was educated by tutors under his father's eye. He was now free, subject to the approval of the Bishop of Scala, to act with regard to the convent as he thought best. This lifelong friendship aided Alphonsus, as did his association with a mystic, Sister Mary Celeste. He was declared "Venerable", 4 May, 1796; was beatified in 1816, and canonized in 1839. Except in '45, in all of these, down to the first shot fired at Lexington, the English-speaking world was on one side and the Bourbon States, including Naples, on the other. The experience and teaching of St Alphonsus Maria de' Liguori regarding the Eucharist was in line with the Pope's invitation to Christians to persevere in their most important duty: to proclaim to humanity the great mystery of God's love, especially visible in the Eucharist. [7], On 9 November 1732, he founded the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer,[10] when Sister Maria Celeste Crostarosa told him that it had been revealed to her that he was the one that God had chosen to found the congregation. In 1762 Pope Clement XIII made him bishop of Sant Agata del Goti near Naples; he resigned in 1775 because of ill health. The Saint's complete dogmatic works have been translated into Latin by P. WALTER, C.SS.R., S. Alphonsi Mariae de Liguori Ecclesiae Doctoris Opera Dogmatica, (New York, 1903, 2 vols., 4to). Naples had been part of the dominions of Spain since 1503, but in 1708 when Alphonsus was twelve years old, it was conquered by Austria during the war of the Spanish Succession. [8] Moreover, Liguori viewed scruples as a blessing at times and wrote: "Scruples are useful in the beginning of conversion. they cleanse the soul, and at the same time make it careful". Nov 2012. Then God called him to his life work. The Fathers in the Papal States, with too precipitate zeal, in the very beginning denounced the change of Rule to Rome. He was baptized two days later in the church of Our Lady of the Virgins, in Naples. Indeed, apart from those who become saints by the altogether special grace of martyrdom, it may be doubted if many men and women of phlegmatic temperament have been canonized. Here he discovered more than thirty thousand uninstructed men and women and four hundred indifferent priests. On 6 April, 1726, he was ordained deacon, and soon after preached his first sermon. St. Alphonsus Liguori was an Italian Catholic bishop, spiritual writer, composer, musician, artist, poet, lawyer, scholastic philosopher, and theologian. The Holy Father addressed the faithful taking part in the General audience of Wednesday, 1 August [2012], in Piazza della Libert, the square outside the Papal residence in Castel Gandolfo. He had to endure a real persecution for two months. He knew that trials were before him. Colletta's book gives the best general picture of the time, but is marred by anti-clerical bias. The "Moral Theology", after a historical introduction by the Saint's friend, P. Zaccaria, S.J., which was omitted, however, from the eighth and ninth editions, begins with a treatise "De Conscientia", followed by one "De Legibus". Much of the material for a complete life of St. Alphonsus is still in manuscript in the Roman archives of the Redemptorist Congregation and in the archives of the Sacred Congregation of Bishops and Regulars. He had nearly completed his ninety-first year. Alphonsus left the Hospital and went to the church of the Redemption of Captives. There are many editions of the Saint's Moral Theology; the best and latest is that of P. GAUDI, C.SS.R. He refused to become the bishop of Palermo but in 1762 had to accept the papal command to accept the see of St. Agatha of the Goths near Naples. The extreme difficulty of the lifelong work of fashioning a saint consists precisely in this, that every act of virtue the saint performs goes to strengthen his character, that is, his will. The cause of this was "regalism", the omnipotence of kings even in matters spiritual, which was the system of government in Naples as in all the Bourbon States. [5], By May 1775, Alphonus was "deaf, blind, and laden with so many infirmities, that he has no longer even the appearance of a man", and his resignation was accepted by the recently crowned Pope Pius VI. MLA citation. The family was an old and noble one, though the branch to which the Saint belonged had become somewhat impoverished. He had a tender charity towards all who were in trouble; he would go to any length to try to save a vocation; he would expose himself to death to prevent sin. St. Alphonsus was a brilliant, articulate, pragmatic preacher. The Saint only wept in silence and tried in vain to devise some means by which his Order might be saved. Since its publication, it has remained in Latin, often in 10 volumes or in the combined 4-volume version of Gaud. Eight times during his long life, without counting his last sickness, the Saint received the sacraments of the dying, but the worst of all his illnesses was a terrible attack of rheumatic fever during his episcopate, an attack which lasted from May, 1768, to June, 1769, and left him paralyzed to the end of his days. Not many details have come down to us of Alphonsus's childhood. Alphonsus had still one final storm to meet, and then the end. Vague rumours of impending treachery had got about and had been made known to him, but he had refused to believe them. I will love you all my life. He was not allowed to resign his see, however, until 1775. After practicing law for eight years, he was ordained a priest in 1726. http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/01334a.htm. [16] The 21,500 editions and the translations into 72 languages that his works have undergone attest to the fact that he is one of the most widely-read Catholic authors. If we except a few poems published in 1733 (the Saint was born in 1696), his first work, a tiny volume called "Visits to the Blessed Sacrament", only appeared in 1744 or 1745, when he was nearly fifty years old. But Alphonsus's director, Father Pagano; Father Fiorillo, a great Dominican preacher; Father Manulio, Provincial of the Jesuits; and Vincent Cutica, Superior of the Vincentians, supported the young priest, and, 9 November, 1732, the "Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer", or as it was called for seventeen years, "of the Most Holy Saviour", was begun in a little hospice belonging to the nuns of Scala. Many years before, in Rome, Falcoia had been shown a vision of a new religious family of men and women whose particular aim should be the perfect imitation of the virtues of Our Lord. When he was preparing for the priesthood in Naples, his masters were of the rigid school, for though the center of Jansenistic disturbance was in northern Europe, no shore was so remote as not to feel the ripple of its waves. Saint Alphonsus Liguori (1696-1787) was a Neapolitan who founded the Redemptorist Order of priests, a congregation dedicated to providing parish missions, especially to the poor in rural areas. [5] He remarked later that he was so small at the time that he was almost buried in his doctor's gown and that all the spectators laughed. He was beatified in 1816 and canonized in 1839. The editor of New Advent is Kevin Knight. Tannoia was born about 1724 and entered the Redemptorist Congregation in 1746. Ultimately, however, anything merely human in this had disappeared. He was a born leader of men. Today I would like to present to you the figure of a holy Doctor of the Church to whom we are deeply indebted because he was an outstanding moral theologian and a teacher of spiritual . New York: Robert Appleton Company. In 1719, together with a Father Filangieri, also one of the "Pii Operarii", he had refounded a Conservatorium of religious women at Scala on the mountains behind Amalfi. Except for the chances of European war, England and Naples were then in different worlds, but Alphonsus may have seen at the side of Don Carlos when he conquered Naples in 1734, an English boy of fourteen who had already shown great gallantry under fire and was to play a romantic part in history, Prince Charles Edward Stuart. This document gives you the case." Were the vehement things in his letters and writings, especially in the matter of rebuke or complaint, to appraised as if uttered by an Anglo-Saxon in cold blood, we might be surprised and even shocked. She was told to write it down and show it to the director of the convent, that is to Falcoia himself. Now the saint has a very great momentum indeed, and a spoiled saint is often a great villain. It will be remembered that even as a young man his chief distress at his breakdown in court was the fear that his mistake might be ascribed to deceit. But, before relating the episode of the "Regolamento", as it is called, we must speak of the period of the Saint's episcopate which intervened. First Station: Jesus Is Condemned to Death V. We adore you, Christ, and we praise you. This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain:Herbermann, Charles, ed. Here St. Alphonsus teaches that those who refuse to bow to the will of God only double their afflictions. His best plan would have been to consult the Holy See, but in this he had been forestalled. Includes the Catholic Encyclopedia, Church Fathers, Summa, Bible and more all for only $19.99 Born at Marianella, near Naples, 27 September, 1696; died at Nocera de' Pagani, 1 August, 1787. In April 1729, the Apostle of China, Matthew Ripa, founded a missionary college in Naples, which became known colloquially as the "Chinese College". Alphonsus's temperament was very ardent. On the other hand, ever since the Fall of Man, the will of man has been his greatest danger. If in some things Alphonsus was an Anglo-Saxon, in others he was a Neapolitan of the Neapolitans, though always a saint. He started again, recruited new members, and in 1743 became the prior of two new congregations, one for men and one for women. If you donate just $5.00, the price of your coffee, Catholic Online School could keep thriving. All materials contained on this site, whether written, audible or visual are the exclusive property of Catholic Online and are protected under U.S. and International copyright laws, Copyright 2022 Catholic Online. St. Alphonsus Liguori Catholic Church is known far and wide as "The Rock." The parish is staffed by the Redemptorists, making history in 1922 when it began the weekly novena in honor of Our Mother of Perpetual Help. In 1724, soon after Alphonsus left the world, a postulant, Julia Crostarosa, born in Naples on 31 October, 1696, and hence almost the same age as the Saint, entered the convent of Scala. To come to saints, the great Jesuit missionary St. Francis di Geronimo took the little Alphonsus in his arms, blessed him, and prophesied that he would do great work for God; while a Franciscan, St. John Joseph of the Cross, was well known to Alphonsus in later life. St. Alphonsus Liguori. When the day came the future Saint made a brilliant opening speech and sat down confident of victory. His works have gone through several thousand editions and have been translated into more than 60 languages. Saint Alphonsus Liguori described in detail this miracle and took the opportunity to reawake the faith and devotion of the people towards the Eucharist. With their aid, Aiphonsus founded the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer on November 9, 1732. The traditional Stations of the Cross were written by St. Alphonsus Liguori, a bishop and Doctor of the Church, in 1761. They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors. In the minutes it was This prayer is a petition asking for the grace to love God more, so as to fear hell and desire to do His . Saint Alphonsus Maria de' Liguori, C.Ss.R. "I follow my conscience", he wrote in 1764, "and when reason persuades me I make little account of moralists." "Let us have it." In 1950 he was named patron saint of moralists and confessors by Pope Pius XII. This combination of practical common sense with extraordinary energy in administrative work ought to make Alphonsus, if he were better known, particularly attractive to the English-speaking nations, especially as he is so modern a saint. He wrote sermons, books, and articles to encourage devotion to the Blessed Sacrament and the Blessed Virgin Mary. Alphonsus, however, was unflagging in his efforts with the Court. This occurred twice. Three years later he published the first sketch of his "Moral Theology" in a single quarto volume called "Annotations to Busembaum", a celebrated Jesuit moral theologian. To this altered Rule or "Regolamento", as it came to be called, the unsuspecting Saint was induced to put his signature. Blessed Clement Hofbauer joined the Redemptorist congregation in the aged Saint's lifetime, though Alphonsus never saw in the flesh the man whom he knew would be the second founder of his Order. About the year 1722, when he was twenty-six years old, he began to go constantly into society, to neglect prayer and the practices of piety which had been an integral part of his life, and to take pleasure in the attention with which he was everywhere received. In 1871, he was declared a Doctor of the Church. In the end the Rule was so altered as to be hardly recognizable, the very vows of religion being abolished. His promotion to the episcopate in 1762 led to a renewal of his missionary activity, but in a slightly different form. By AClarke625. In 1780, Alphonsus was tricked into signing a submission for royal approval of his congregation. Tannoia, also, through some mental idiosyncrasy, manages to give the misleading impression that St. Alphonsus was severe. St. Alphonsus Liguori Born at Marianella, near Naples, 27 September, 1696; died at Nocera de' Pagani, 1 August, 1787. About 1729, however, Filangieri died, and on 8 October, 1730, Falcoia was consecrated Bishop of Castellamare. He was fervent about using common words in . St. Alphonsus Liguori Opening Prayer My Lord Jesus Christ, you have made this journey to die for me with infinite love. Under the government of the Marquis della Sambuca, who, though a great regalist, was a personal friend of the Saint's, there was promise of better times, and in August, 1779, Alphonsus's hopes were raised by the publication of a royal decree allowing him to appoint superiors in his Congregation and to have a novitiate and house of studies. His father, already displeased at the failure of two plans for his son's marriage, and exasperated at Alphonsus's present neglect of his profession, was likely to offer a strenuous opposition to his leaving the world. In 1725, while still a novice, she had a series of visions in which she saw a new order (apparently of nuns only) similar to that revealed to Falcoia many years before. In all this there was no serious sin, but there was no high sanctity either, and God, Who wished His servant to be a saint and a great saint, was now to make him take the road to Damascus. He had a love for the lower animals, and wild creatures who fled from all else would come to him as to a friend. But how was Alphonsus to grow in this so necessary virtue when he was in authority nearly all his life? In fact, in the beginning, the young priest in his humility would not be Superior even of the house, judging one of his companions, John Baptist Donato, better fitted for the post because he had already had some experience of community life in another institute. Again, we have a friendship of thirty years with the great Venetian publishing house of Remondini, whose letters from the Saint, carefully preserved as became business men, fill a quarto volume. In a civil action a serious preponderance of evidence gives one side the case. "What document is that?" The English translation in the Oratory Series is also rather inadequate. He was taught by tutors before entering the University of Naples, where he graduated with doctorates in civil and canon law at 16. "Banquets, entertainments, theatres," he wrote later on--"these are the pleasures of the world, but pleasures which are filled with the bitterness of gall and sharp thorns. He founded the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer, known as the Redemptorists, in November 1732. (27 September 1696 - 1 August 1787), was an Italian Catholic bishop, spiritual writer, composer, musician, artist, poet, lawyer, scholastic philosopher, and theologian. where the Hosts were buried. The saints are not inhuman but real men of flesh and blood, however much some hagiographers may ignore the fact. The eighteenth century was one series of great wars; that of the Spanish, Polish, and Austrian Succession; the Seven Years' War, and the War of American Independence, ending with the still more gigantic struggles in Europe, which arose out of the events of 1789. In fact, despite his youth, he seems at the age of twenty-seven to have been one of the leaders of the Neapolitan Bar. Confident that some special sacrifice was required of him, though he did not yet know what, he did not return to his profession, but spent his days in prayer, seeking to know God's will. St. Alphonsus likened the conflict between law and liberty to a civil action in which the law has the onus probandi, although greater probabilities give it a verdict. He knew how to reach ordinary people who had limited education and very real needs. A pure and modest boyhood passed into a manhood without reproach. +John Cardinal Farley, Archbishop of New York. In this state of exclusion he lived for seven years more and in it he died. [19], His Mariology, though mainly pastoral in nature, rediscovered, integrated and defended that of St Augustine of Hippo, St Ambrose of Milan and other fathers; it represented an intellectual defence of Mariology in the 18th century, the Age of Enlightenment, against the rationalism to which contrasted his fervent Marian devotion.[20]. [5] He founded the Evening Chapels, which were managed by the young people themselves. Died: August 1, 1787. Matters remained thus for some years. He was a man of strong passions, using the term in the philosophic sense, and tremendous energy, but from childhood his passions were under control. In the second edition the work received the definite form it has since retained, though in later issues the Saint retracted a number of opinions, corrected minor ones, and worked at the statement of his theory of Equiprobabilism till at last he considered it complete. While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. The Holy Mass, Eugene Grimm ed., Benziger Brothers, New York, 1887, Liguori, Alphonsus. Theabbot of that monastery soon after visited it, and attempted to reform it, but he didnot succeed; and one day he saw a great number of demons entering the cells of all thenuns except that of Jane, for the heavenly mother, before whose image he saw herpraying, banished them from that. "The life of St. Alphonsus Maria de Liguori" (1855)John Murphy & Co., Baltimore, 1855, "Saint Alphonsus Maria de Liguori", St. Alphonsus Liguori Parish, Peterborough, Ontario, The life of St. Alphonsus Maria de Liguori, Bishop of St. Agatha of the Goths and founder of the Congregation of the Holy Redeemer, Tannoja, Antonio (d. 1808), John Murphy & Co. (1855), "CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA: St. Alphonsus Liguori", "Alphonsus Maria de Liguori", Saint Alphonsus Mary de Liguori Parish, Makati City Philippines, "1st English Translation of St. Alphonsus Liguori's Moral Theology", https://www.avemarialynnfield.org/sites/g/files/zjfyce466/files/2021-01/Stations-of-the-Cross-St-Liguori.pdf, Liguori, Alphonsus. A voice said "This is he whom I have chosen to be head of My Institute, the Prefect General of a new Congregation of men who shall work for My glory." They followed this gifted preacher from church to church and town to town to hear him give a message of hope in Christ for all people. St. Alphonsus Liguori. Alphonsus said nothing in his "Moral Theology" which is not the common teaching of Catholic theologians. His spirituality was both affective and active, centered above all on the passion of Jesus Christ as the principal sign of our Savior's love for us. In 1780, a crisis arose in which they did this, yet in such a way as to bring division in the Congregation and extreme suffering and disgrace upon its founder. In response, Alphonsus dedicated himself to the religious life, even while suffering persecution from his family. But to all this secular history about the only reference in the Saint's correspondence which has come down to us is a sentence in a letter of April, 1744, which speaks of the passage of the Spanish troops who had come to defend Naples against the Austrians. It is not necessary to notice certain non-Catholic attacks on Alphonsus as a patron of lying. Filangieri forbade any change of rule and removed Falcoia from all communication with the convent. Suddenly he found himself surrounded by a mysterious light; the house seemed to rock, and an interior voice said: "Leave the world and give thyself to Me." While the continual intensity of reiterated acts of virtue which we have called driving-power is what really creates sanctity, there is another indispensable quality. To follow an opinion in favour of liberty without weighing it, merely because it is held by someone else, would have seemed to Alphonsus an abdication of the judicial office with which as a confessor he was invested. An attack of rheumatic fever, from May 1768 to June 1769, left him paralyzed. St. Alphonsus Liguori, in full Saint Alphonsus Maria de Liguori, Alphonsus also spelled Alfonso, (born September 27, 1696, Marianella, Kingdom of Naples [Italy]died August 1, 1787, Pagani; canonized 1839; feast day August 1), Italian doctor of the church, one of the chief 18th-century moral theologians, and founder of the Redemptorists, a congregation dedicated primarily to parish and foreign missions. In 1731, the convent unanimously adopted the new Rule, together with a habit of red and blue, the traditional colours of Our Lord's own dress. Actually, the document was a new rule devised by one of his enemies, thus causing the followers of the old rule to break away. Let's start with the saint. A prolific writer, he published nine editions of his Moral Theology in his lifetime, in addition to other devotional and ascetic works and letters. He was canonized in 1839 by Pope Gregory XVI and proclaimed a Doctor of the Church by Pope Pius IX in 1871. Deposed and excluded from his own congregation, Alphonsus suffered great anguish. This has recently been translated into English with additions and corrections (Dublin, 2 vols., royal SVO); DUMORTIER, Les premihres Redemptoristines (Lille, 1886), and Le Phre Antoine-Marie Tannoia (Paris, 1902), contain some useful information; as does BERRUTI, Lo Spirito di S. Alfonso Maria de Liguori, 3 ed. It was this which gave St. Alphonsus the bent head which we notice in the portraits of him. He was the eldest of seven children of Giuseppe Liguori, a naval officer and Captain of the Royal Galleys, and Anna Maria Caterina Cavalieri. In 1762 he was appointed Bishop of Sant'Agata dei Goti. His intercession healed the sick; he read the secrets of hearts, and foretold the future. His austerities were rigorous, and he suffered daily the pain from rheumatism that was beginning to deform his body. Some persons, boasting of being free from prejudices, take great credit to themselvesfor believing no miracles but those recorded in the holy scriptures, esteeming all others. Raised in a pious home, Alphonsus went on retreats with his father, Don Joseph, who was a naval officer and a captain of the Royal Galleys. Dedicated to Fr. By 1777, the Saint, in addition to four houses in Naples and one in Sicily, had four others at Scifelli, Frosinone, St. Angelo a Cupolo, and Beneventum, in the States of the Church. In old age he was more than once raised in the air when speaking of God. St. Alphonsus Liguori, the Prince of Moral Theologians, was one of the greatest preachers in Church history. He spent several years having to drink from tubes because his head was so bent forward. It was through Louis Florent Gillet, Redemptorist priest and co-founder of the Sisters of IHM that we have been gifted with the legacy of St. Alphonsus Liguori. Stay up to date with the latest news, information, and special offers. The Saint's own letters are of extreme value in supplementing Tannoia. He was thinking of leaving the profession and wrote to someone, "My friend, our profession is too full of difficulties and dangers; we lead an unhappy life and run risk of dying an unhappy death". In vain those around him and even the judge on the bench tried to console him. This submission altered the original rule, and as a result Alphonsus was denied any authority among the Redemptorists. He founded the congregation with the charism of preaching popular missions in the city and the countryside. From his earliest years he had an anxious fear about committing sin which passed at times into scruple. But he was a man of genuine faith and piety and stainless life, and he meant his son to be the same. Shop St. Alphonsus Marie Liguori. Even the baleful shadow of Voltaire falls across the Saint's life, for Alphonsus wrote to congratulate him on a conversion, which alas, never took place! About three years before his death he went through a veritable "Night of the Soul". First Station: Jesus is condemned to death, Saint of the Day for Saturday, March 4th, 2023, Sixth Station: Veronica wipes the face of Jesus, Eighth Station: Jesus meets the women of Jerusalem. [2] Moreover, he heard an interior voice saying: "Leave the world, and give yourself to me."[5]. Alphonsus was lawyer, founder, religious superior, bishop, theologian, and mystic, but he was above all a missionary, and no true biography of the Saint will neglect to give this due prominence. The foundation faced immediate problems, and after just one year, Alphonsus found himself with only one lay brother, his other companions having left to form their own religious group. (Rome, 1896). SVO), gives an extremely full and picturesque account of the Saint's life and times. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. Alphonsus suffers great interior trials. Alphonsus the Patron. http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/01334a.htm. He first addressed ecclesiastical abuses in the diocese, reformed the seminary and spiritually rehabilitated the clergy and faithful. He answered emphatically: "Never! Then the storm subsided, and he began to see that his humiliation had been sent him by God to break down his pride and wean him from the world. Alphonsus agreed to both requests and set out with his two friends, John Mazzini and Vincent Mannarini, in September, 1730. He was somewhat worldly and ambitious, at any rate for his son, and was rough tempered when opposed. The third book deals with the Ten Commandments, the fourth with the monastic and clerical states, and the duties of judges, advocates, doctors, merchants, and others. Alternate titles: Saint Alfonso Liguori, Saint Alfonso Maria de Liguori, Saint Alphonsus Maria deLiguori. His system of moral theology is noted for its prudence, avoiding both laxism and excessive rigour. Updates? The wine had changed into blood; clotted and separated into 5 different sized clots. He was born Alphonsus Marie Antony John Cosmos Damien Michael Gaspard de Liguori on September 27,1696, at Marianella, near Naples, Italy. He was ordained on December 21, 1726, and he spent six years giving missions throughout Naples. The childish fault for which he most reproached himself in after-life was resisting his father too strongly when he was told to take part in a drawing-room play. He died on the very eve of the great Revolution which was to sweep the persecutors away, having seen in vision the woes which the French invasion of 1798 was to bring on Naples. A few months later Alphonsus left his father's house and went to live with Ripa, without, however, becoming a member of his society.
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