Flora Cantábrica

Saint Philip Neri

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Saint Philip Neri
Priest Founder
Year 1595
Lord our God, who never ceases to glorify the holiness of those who faithfully serve you, grant that the fire of the Holy Spirit may kindle in us that same ardor that so marvelously inflamed the heart of Saint Philip Neri.
Through Our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son.
Saint Philip was born in Florence, Italy, in 1515. His father’s name was Francesco Neri. From a young age, he demonstrated such joy and such great kindness that people called him «Philip the Good.» In his youth, he left a reputation for kindness and joy among his companions and friends.
Having been orphaned by his mother, his father sent him to the home of a very wealthy uncle, who planned to leave him heir to all his possessions. But there, Philip realized that riches could prevent him from dedicating himself to God, and one day he had what he called his first «conversion.» And it consisted of him leaving his very rich uncle’s house and going to Rome, carrying only the clothes on his back. From then on, he wanted to trust only in God and not in riches or wealthy relatives.
Upon arriving in Rome, he stayed with a fellow countryman from Florence, who gave him a small room under a staircase and promised to offer him one meal a day if he would tutor his children. Philip’s room contained nothing but a bed and a simple table. His diet consisted of a single meal a day: bread, a glass of water, and some olives. The owner of the house declared that since Philip began tutoring his children, they had behaved like angels.
For the first two years, Philip occupied himself almost exclusively with reading, praying, doing penance, and meditating. For another three years, he studied philosophy and theology.
But then, by God’s inspiration, he devoted himself entirely to teaching catechism to the poor. Rome was in a state of appalling religious ignorance, and the corruption of morals was staggering. For 40 years, Philip would be Rome’s best catechist and would transform the city.
Philip had received from God the gift of joy and kindness. Because he was so friendly with people, he easily made friends with workers, employees, vendors, and street children, and he began to talk to them about the soul, God, and salvation. One of his most frequent questions was: «Friend, when are we going to start becoming better?» If the person showed him goodwill, he would explain the easiest ways to become more pious and to begin behaving as God intended.
He would occasionally take those who showed him the greatest desire to progress in holiness to care for the sick in charity hospitals, which at that time were extremely poor, abandoned, and in need of everything. Another of his practices was to lead people who wished to begin a new life in a devout procession through the seven main temples of Rome, spending a good amount of time in prayer and meditation at each one. And so, with charity for the poor and prayer, he transformed countless people.
From morning until nightfall, he would teach catechism to children, visit and care for the sick in hospitals, and lead groups of people to churches to pray and meditate. But at dusk, he would retreat to some solitary place to pray and meditate on what God has done for us. He often spent the entire night praying. He loved to go and pray at the doors of temples or in the catacombs, or large underground caves of Rome where the ancient martyrs are imprisoned.
What Philip most prayed for was that Heaven grant him a great love for God. And on the eve of the Feast of Pentecost, while he was praying with great faith, asking God to allow him to love Him with all his heart, his heart swelled and two of his ribs popped out. Philip, excited and almost dying of emotion, exclaimed: «Enough, Lord, enough! You’re going to kill me with so much joy!» From then on, our saint experienced such great outbursts of love for God that his whole body trembled, and in the middle of winter, he had to open his shirt and uncover his chest to somewhat mitigate the fire of love he felt for Our Lord. When they went to bury him, they noticed that two ribs had popped out and that they had arched to accommodate his heart, which had noticeably enlarged.
In 1458, he founded a brotherhood or confraternity with his most fervent followers to help the poor and to dedicate themselves to prayer and meditation. With them, he founded a large hospital called «Of the Most Holy Trinity and the Pilgrims,» ​​and during the Jubilee Year in 1757, they cared for 145,000 pilgrims. With the people who followed him, he spread throughout Rome the custom of the «40 Hours,» which consisted of placing the Holy Host prominently on the main altar of each church and devoting 40 hours to adoring Christ in the Blessed Sacrament, with the devout taking turns in this adoration.
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