His life contains a number of minor inaccuracies, however, and is seriously defective in its account of the founding of his Congregation and of the troubles which fell on it in 1780. This occurred twice. Alphonsus was preaching missions in the rural areas and writing. CARDINAL CAPECELATRO has also written a life of the Saint, La Vita di Sant' Alfonso Maria de Liguori (Rome, 2 vols.). The version with Italian lyrics was based on his original song written in Neapolitan, which began Quanno nascette Ninno ("When the child was born"). Your Catholic Voice Foundation has been granted a recognition of tax exemption under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. Dignity and Duties of the Priest, Eugene Grimm ed., Benziger Brothers, New York, 1889, Free scores by Alphonsus Maria de' Liguori in the Choral Public Domain Library (ChoralWiki), "St Alphonsus", St. Alphonsus on Catholic Online, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Alphonsus_Liguori&oldid=1141126599, Founders of Catholic religious communities, 18th-century Italian Roman Catholic bishops, 18th-century Italian Roman Catholic theologians, Articles incorporating a citation from the 1913 Catholic Encyclopedia with Wikisource reference, Articles incorporating text from the 1913 Catholic Encyclopedia with Wikisource reference, All articles with bare URLs for citations, Articles with bare URLs for citations from March 2022, Articles with PDF format bare URLs for citations, Articles containing Neapolitan-language text, Articles containing Italian-language text, Pages using sidebar with the child parameter, Articles incorporating a citation from the 1913 Catholic Encyclopedia without Wikisource reference, Articles incorporating text from the 1913 Catholic Encyclopedia without Wikisource reference, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, Bishop, Moral Theologian, Confessor and Doctor of the Church, This page was last edited on 23 February 2023, at 13:49. The impulse to this passionate service of God comes from Divine grace, but the soul must correspond (which is also a grace of God), and the soul of strong will and strong passions corresponds best. He died on August 1 at Nocera. 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. The prayer he recommended to his Congregation, of which we have beautiful examples in his ascetical works, is affective; the use of short aspirations, petitions, and acts of love, rather than discursive meditation with long reflection. The foundation of all subsequent lives is the Della vita ed istituto del venerabile Alfonso Maria Liguori, of ANTONY TANNOIA, one of the great biographies of literature. In 1734, however, it was reconquered by Don Carlos, the young Duke of Parma, great-grandson of Louis XIV, and the independent Bourbon Kingdom of the Two Sicilies was established. Here with 30,000 uninstructed people, 400 mostly indifferent and sometimes scandalous secular clergy, and seventeen more or less relaxed religious houses to look after, in a field so overgrown with weeds that they seemed the only crop, he wept and prayed and spent days and nights in unremitting labour for thirteen years. He was born Alphonsus Marie Antony John Cosmos Damien Michael Gaspard de Liguori on September 27,1696, at Marianella, near Naples, Italy. 1. The English translation of the work is projected to be around 5 volumes. He was fervent about using common words in . 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. On 21 December of the same year, at the age of thirty, he was ordained priest. Liguori wrote 111 works on spirituality and theology. 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. Falcoia, hearing of this, begged his friend to give a retreat to the nuns of his Conservatorium at the same time. There was a considerable difference in age between the two men, for Falcoia, born in 1663, was now sixty-six, and Alphonsus only thirty-three, but the old priest and the young had kindred souls. [5] He founded the Evening Chapels, which were managed by the young people themselves. Colletta's book gives the best general picture of the time, but is marred by anti-clerical bias. His sermons were very effective at converting those who had been alienated from their faith. Calendarium Romanum (Libreria Editrice Vaticana 1969), p. 99, Appendix to his work on the Council of Trent, Saint Alphonsus Liguori, patron saint archive, St. Alphonsus 'Rock' Liguori Church (St. Louis), "St. Alphonsus Liguori, Our Founder", Redemptorists, Baltimore Province, Tannoja, Antonio. In a civil action a serious preponderance of evidence gives one side the case. Key Concepts; Teachings; Visions; Search Revelations . (London, 1904). In early manhood he became very fond of the opera, but only that he might listen to the music, for when the curtain went up he took his glasses off, so as not to see the players distinctly. One of the most widely read Catholic authors, he is the patron saint of confessors. He lived his first years as a priest with the homeless and the marginalized youth of Naples. In liturgical art he is depicted as bent over with rheumatism or as a young priest. The early years, following the founding of the new order, were not promising. So bent was it in the beginning, that the pressure of his chin produced a dangerous wound in the chest. [2][3], He was born in Marianella, near Naples, then part of the Kingdom of Naples, on 27 September 1696. This is the great question of "Probabilism". The Superior of the Propaganda and even Falcoia's friend, Matthew Ripa, opposed the project with all their might. Alphonsus agreed to both requests and set out with his two friends, John Mazzini and Vincent Mannarini, in September, 1730. In the end the Rule was so altered as to be hardly recognizable, the very vows of religion being abolished. 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. From 1726 to 1752, first as a member of the Neapolitan "Propaganda", and then as a leader of his own Fathers, he traversed the provinces of Naples for the greater part of each year giving missions even in the smallest villages and saving many souls. He had a love for the lower animals, and wild creatures who fled from all else would come to him as to a friend. This document gives you the case." Other personal friends of Alphonsus were the Jesuit Fathers de Matteis, Zaccaria, and Nonnotte. He remained thunderstruck for a moment; then said in a broken voice: "You are right. . Alphonsus was a devoted friend of the Society of Jesus and its long persecution by the Bourbon Courts, ending in its suppression in 1773, filled him with grief. Many Miracles are wrought through the intercession of Alphonsus. The Government throughout had recognized the good effect of his missions, but it wished the missionaries to be secular priests and not a religious order. Not many details have come down to us of Alphonsus's childhood. 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. Cardinals Spinelli, Sersale, and Orsini; Popes Benedict XIV, Clement XIII, Clement XIV, and Pius VI, to each of whom Alphonsus dedicated a volume of his works. [10] He was proficient in the arts, his parents having had him trained by various masters, and he was a musician, painter, poet and author at the same time. The Ceremonies of the Interment. After practicing law for eight years, he was ordained a priest in 1726. Neapolitan students, in an animated but amicable discussion, seem to foreign eyes to be taking part in a violent quarrel. Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login). This article was transcribed for New Advent by Paul T. Crowley. St. Alphonsus Liguori was a bishop and moral theologian living and preaching in Naples in the eighteenth century. The rudder is humility, which, in the intellect, is a realization of our own unworthiness, and in the will, docility to right guidance. Saint Alphonsus Liguori. 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. . He was more concerned with the spiritual conflict which was going on at the same time. Even when taking him into society in order to arrange a good marriage for him, he wished Alphonsus to put God first, and every year father and son would make a retreat together in some religious house. It is a matter for friendly controversy, but it seems there was a real difference, though not as great in practice as is supposed, between the Saint's later teaching and that current in the Society. An English translation in five volumes is included in the 22 volumes of the American centenary edition of St. Alphonsus's ascetical works (New York). Remy Lafort, S.T.D., Censor. Saint Alphonsus De Liguori Usage Public Domain Topics Blessed Virgin Mary, Miracles, Apparitions, Conversion, Saints, Rosary, Sin, Repentance, Catholic Collection opensource Language English Stories from St Alphonsus De Liguori, which he culled from various sources, which can be seen in the larger work, "The Glories of Mary". In addition his father made him practice the harpsichord for three hours a day, and at the age of thirteen he played with the perfection of a master. He became very popular because of his plain and simple preaching. 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." 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. Still there was a time of danger. Revelations from God, the Saints, and the Angels through the Miracle of Saint Joseph, started in 1967 and continuing to this day. Alphonsus Liguori was not a favorite with the windbags of his day. An attack of rheumatic fever, from May 1768 to June 1769, left him paralyzed. Catholic Online is a Project of Your Catholic Voice Foundation, a Not-for-Profit Corporation. Contact information. In 1762 he was appointed Bishop of Sant'Agata dei Goti. [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]. If you donate just $5.00, the price of your coffee, Catholic Online School could keep thriving. What are Revelations? Any unauthorized use, without prior written consent of Catholic Online is strictly forbidden and prohibited. Believe me who have experienced it, and now weep over it." Alphonsus, however, was unflagging in his efforts with the Court. Regrettably, I can't reply to every letter, but I greatly appreciate your feedback especially notifications about typographical errors and inappropriate ads. On 6 April, 1726, he was ordained deacon, and soon after preached his first sermon. The question as to what does or does not constitute a lie is not an easy one, but it is a subject in itself. Bishop, Doctor of the Church, and the founder of the Redemptorist Congregation. 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. Resuming the General Audiences after the summer break the last was held on 27 June in the Vatican the Pope . 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. The Saint's own letters are of extreme value in supplementing Tannoia. This involves expressing our faith in Christ and in His Presence in the Eucharist, and asking Him to unite Himself with us. He fed the poor, instructed the ignorant, reorganized his seminary, reformed his convents, created a new spirit in his clergy, banished scandalous noblemen and women of evil life with equal impartiality, brought the study of theology and especially of moral theology into honour, and all the time was begging pope after pope to let him resign his office because he was doing nothing for his diocese. Paths to Heaven; Revelations. According to this view he chose a different formula from the Jesuit writers, partly because he thought his own terms more exact, and, partly to save his teaching and his congregation as far as possible from the State persecution which after 1764 had already fallen so heavily on the Society of Jesus, and in 1773 was formally to suppress it. http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/01334a.htm. Fearful temptations against every virtue crowded upon him, together with diabolical apparitions and illusions, and terrible scruples and impulses to despair which made life a hell. The Holy Mass, Eugene Grimm ed., Benziger Brothers, New York, 1887, Liguori, Alphonsus. His hymns are justly celebrated in Italy. Tannoia, also, through some mental idiosyncrasy, manages to give the misleading impression that St. Alphonsus was severe. Saint Alphonsus Liguori's Story Moral theology, Vatican II said, should be more thoroughly nourished by Scripture, and show the nobility of the Christian vocation of the faithful and their obligation to bring forth fruit in charity for the life of the world. Alternate titles: Saint Alfonso Liguori, Saint Alfonso Maria de Liguori, Saint Alphonsus Maria deLiguori. Author and Publisher - Catholic Online Pius VI, already deeply displeased with the Neapolitan Government, took the fathers in his own dominions under his special protection, forbade all change of rule in their houses, and even withdrew them from obedience to the Neapolitan superiors, that is to St. Alphonsus, till an inquiry could be held. 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 The Fathers in the Papal States, with too precipitate zeal, in the very beginning denounced the change of Rule to Rome. He who ruled and directed others so wisely, had, where his own soul was concerned, to depend on obedience like a little child. "St. Alphonsus Liguori." But he was a man of genuine faith and piety and stainless life, and he meant his son to be the same. 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. He fell into a clairvoyant trance at Arienzo on 21 September, 1774, and was present in spirit at the death-bed in Rome of Pope Clement XIV. Here St. Alphonsus teaches that those who refuse to bow to the will of God only double their afflictions. His own prayer was perhaps for the most part what some call "active", others "ordinary", contemplation. 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. 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). There are two Sunday services, one at 8:15 and the second at 11. [12], He was beatified on 15 September 1816 by Pope Pius VII and canonized on 26 May 1839 by Pope Gregory XVI.[13][14]. 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.