SAINTS: St Philip Neri – 26 May
By Catherine Sheehan
As patron saint of laughter and joy, it could be said that Italian priest Philip Neri (1515-1595) epitomised sanctity.
This is because doing the will of God, while often difficult and the source of earthly suffering, is usually accompanied by inner peace and joy due to a clear conscience.
Indeed, Philip himself said, “Christian joy is a gift of God flowing from a good conscience”.
Philip was born into nobility in Florence, Italy, and was taught by the Dominican friars at San Marco monastery. He experienced a major spiritual conversion after having a mystical vision of the Lord when he was 18 years old.
As a consequence he moved to Rome where dedicated himself to prayer, fasting, and caring for the sick and poor.
Philip was ordained to the priesthood in 1551 and devoted himself to ministering to pilgrims in Rome. He was greatly loved because of his goodness, and his cheerfulness and sense of humour.
He once said, “To preserve our cheerfulness amid sicknesses and troubles, is a sign of a right and good spirit.” On another occasion he said: “A joyful heart is more easily made perfect than a downcast one.”
His ministry grew rapidly and he eventually founded ‘the Oratory’ where he and several fellow priests ministered to the pilgrims.
In 1575, Pope Gregory XIII officially approved of Philip’s community, the Congregation of the Priests of the Oratory, known affectionately as ‘the Oratorians’.
Philip spent a great deal of time hearing people’s confessions and often used his sense of humour in devising penances that would teach the gravity of sin.
During one of his homilies at morning Mass in 2016, Pope Francis spoke of one amusing anecdote regarding Philip. The homily was published under the title “St Philip and the chicken” on the Vatican website.
The Holy Father recounted how a woman confessed to Philip that she had committed the sin of gossip. For her penance Philip told her to go and buy a chicken, pluck it, and distribute the feathers all throughout the neighbourhood.
When she completed this task she returned to Philip seeking absolution, however, he told her to go and pick up every one of the feathers.
When she objected saying the feathers were strewn everywhere and she couldn’t possibly find them all, according to Pope Francis, Philip responded, “This is how gossip is: it sullies the other person”. The Pope continued saying, “those who gossip, sully, destroy the reputation, destroy the life and often without reason, contrary to the truth”.
Philip died in 1595 in Rome at the age of 80 after suffering a haemorrhage. He was dubbed “the Apostle of Rome” because of his amazing work of evangelisation in the Eternal City, bringing many souls to Christ through his preaching, his holiness, and his playful sense of humour.