Saint Alphonsus Liguori was a very special saint who lived in Italy during the 18th century. He was a bishop, a writer, and a founder of a religious order called the Redemptorists.
Key facts:
- Bishop, Doctor of the Church
- Patron Saint of Arthritis, Confessors, Moralists
- Former Lawyer
- Ordained near the age of 30 years old
- Founder of the Redemptorists Order
- Composer
- Musician
- Poet
- Author
- Scholastic philosopher, and theologian
- Died at the age of 90 on August 1, 1787
- Beatified on 15 September 1816 by Pope Pius VII
- Canonized on 26 May 1839 by Pope Gregory XVI
- Proclaimed ‘Doctor of the Church’ in 1871
Saint Alphonsus Liguori was born in 1696 and became a priest at a young age. He dedicated his life to serving God and helping people grow closer to Him. He was known for his deep love for Jesus and his devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary.
He was the eldest of seven children of Giuseppe Liguori, a naval officer and Captain of the Royal Galleys. Liguori learned to ride and fence but was never a good shot because of poor eyesight. Myopia and chronic asthma precluded a military career so his father had him educated in the legal profession. He was taught by tutors before entering the University of Naples, where he graduated with doctorates in civil and canon law at 16. 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 became a successful lawyer. 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”. At 27, after having lost an important case, the first he had lost in eight years of practising law, he made a firm resolution to leave the profession of law. Moreover, he heard an interior voice saying: “Leave the world, and give yourself to me.”
In 1723, he decided to offer himself as a novice to the Oratory of St. Philip Neri with the intention of becoming a priest. His father opposed the plan, but after two months (and with his Oratorian confessor’s permission), he and his father compromised: he would study for the priesthood, but not as an Oratorian, and would live at home. He was ordained on 21 December 1726, at the age of 30. He lived his first years as a priest with the homeless and the marginalized youth of Naples. He became very popular because of his plain and simple preaching. He said: “I have never preached a sermon which the poorest old woman in the congregation could not understand”. He founded the Evening Chapels, which were managed by the young people themselves. The chapels were centres of prayer and piety, preaching, community, social activities, and education. At the time of his death, there were 72, with over 10,000 active participants. His sermons were very effective at converting those who had been alienated from their faith.
On 9 November 1732, he founded the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer, 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. He founded the congregation with the charism of preaching popular missions in the city and the countryside. Its goal was to teach and preach in the slums of cities and other poor places.
A gifted musician and composer, he wrote many popular hymns and taught them to the people in parish missions. Liguori was consecrated Bishop of Sant’Agata dei Goti in 1762. He tried to refuse the appointment by using his age and infirmities as arguments against his consecration. He wrote sermons, books, and articles to encourage devotion to the Blessed Sacrament and the Blessed Virgin Mary.
In May 1775 he resigned as Bishop due to his health. He continued to live with the Redemptorist community in Pagani, Italy, where he died on 1 August 1787. He was beatified on 15 September 1816 by Pope Pius VII and canonized on 26 May 1839 by Pope Gregory XVI.
Kenrick Vaz 