Saint Philip Neri

Philip Neri was born in Florence on July 21, 1515, the second son of the notary Francesco Neri. At eighteen he was sent by an uncle to San Germano, near Montecassino, to learn the trade and inherit the business. He left without taking anything and made his way to Rome, where he knew no one. He spent sixty years there. At first he worked as a tutor in the house of a Florentine, in exchange for board and a room; he studied, and spent his nights in the catacombs of San Sebastiano. He wasn’t a priest and had no thought of becoming one: he was ordained at thirty-six, when his friends told him to. What he did was very simple, and new. He stopped people in the street — craftsmen, errand boys, shop apprentices — and struck up a conversation. He took them to visit the seven churches, on foot, with a packed lunch and music. He got them singing, playing games, arguing. In a Rome that was a dangerous and cynical city, that became the Oratory, which Gregory XIII recognized as a congregation in 1575. His method was good humor, and he used it on himself too: when he was afraid of being admired, he would do something ridiculous on purpose, like showing up with half his beard shaved off. They called him the saint of joy, and also God’s jester. He died in Rome on May 26, 1595. He is called the second apostle of Rome. If your name is Philip, today is your name day.