Philip Neri
1515–1595
Feast: May 26
You would rather win people over than wear them down, with warmth, in the middle of ordinary life, always ready to begin something new. That is Philip Neri: in sixteenth-century Rome he draws people to God with infectious joy, right there in the streets, until the city calls him the "Apostle of Rome". Out of his circle grows the Oratory. And when Rome lies at his feet, he cracks jokes and plays the fool, humor as a school of humility, so that no one puts him on a pedestal. According to tradition, God literally enlarged his heart, something still recorded in his canonization process. So tell me: do you trust your joy enough to let it lead someone to God?
From his life
- "Apostle of Rome"
- The Oratory
- Humor as a school of humility
- The enlargement of his heart, according to tradition physically documented in the canonization process
The bridge to tradition
Cheerfulness and strict piety are not opposites, Neri went to confession for hours every day.