He knew how to reach ordinary people who had limited education and very real needs. 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. She was declared Venerable 11 August, 1901. The question as to what does or does not constitute a lie is not an easy one, but it is a subject in itself. 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. "What document is that?" It was this which gave St. Alphonsus the bent head which we notice in the portraits of him. He had a love for the lower animals, and wild creatures who fled from all else would come to him as to a friend. He was declared "Venerable", 4 May, 1796; was beatified in 1816, and canonized in 1839. Copyright 2022 Catholic Online. He is credited with the position of Aequiprobabilism, which avoided Jansenist rigorism as well as laxism and simple probabilism. My email address is webmaster at newadvent.org. His best-known musical work is his Christmas hymn Quanno Nascetti Ninno, later translated into Italian by Pope Pius IX as Tu scendi dalle stelle ("From Starry Skies Thou Comest"). Tannoia was born about 1724 and entered the Redemptorist Congregation in 1746. Liguori was a prolific and popular author. If we except a few poems published in 1733 (the Saint was born in 1696), his first work, a tiny volume called "Visits to the Blessed Sacrament", only appeared in 1744 or 1745, when he was nearly fifty years old. Neapolitan students, in an animated but amicable discussion, seem to foreign eyes to be taking part in a violent quarrel. St Alphonsus Mary Liguori and Prayer | EWTN At the worst, it was only the scaffolding by which the temple of perfection was raised. 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. Saint Alphonsus Liguori described in detail this miracle and took the opportunity to reawake the faith and devotion of the people towards the Eucharist. He said himself that he was so small at the time as to be almost buried in his doctor's gown and that all the spectators laughed. After a short interval--we do not know exactly how long--the answer came. Its goal was to teach and preach in the slums of cities and other poor places. Novena for the Holy Souls in Purgatory - Learn Religions (Rome, 1905). Author and Publisher - Catholic Online On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. " Wonderful worship experience ". He was the eldest of seven children of Giuseppe Liguori, a naval officer and Captain of the Royal Galleys, and Anna Maria Caterina Cavalieri. This article was most recently revised and updated by, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Saint-Alfonso-Maria-de-Liguori, The Catholic Encyclopedia - Biography of St. Alphonsus Liguori. He was helped in this by his turn of mind which was extremely practical. 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. In a civil action a serious preponderance of evidence gives one side the case. He was somewhat worldly and ambitious, at any rate for his son, and was rough tempered when opposed. 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. Alphonsus Liguori - Wikipedia In 1725, while still a novice, she had a series of visions in which she saw a new order (apparently of nuns only) similar to that revealed to Falcoia many years before. Perhaps in any case the submission of their Rule to a suspicious and even hostile civil power was a mistake. Unfortunately, he was not obliged by his confessor, in virtue of holy obedience, as St. Teresa was, to write down his states of prayer; so we do not know precisely what they were. Furthermore, St. Alphonsus was a great theologian, and so attached much weight to intrinsic probability. Much of the material for a complete life of St. Alphonsus is still in manuscript in the Roman archives of the Redemptorist Congregation and in the archives of the Sacred Congregation of Bishops and Regulars. The family was of noble lineage, but the branch to which Liguori belonged had become somewhat impoverished. More than once he faced assassination unmoved. It is the following of Jesus as a community of disciples, aware that we are sent to be a clear . So the Saint was cut off from his own Order by the Pope who was to declare him "Venerable". Omissions? The "Glories of Mary", "The Selva", "The True Spouse of Christ", "The Great Means of Prayer", "The Way of Salvation", "Opera Dogmatica, or History of the Council of Trent", and "Sermons for all the Sundays in the Year", are the best known. The Ceremonies of the Interment. On the other hand, ever since the Fall of Man, the will of man has been his greatest danger. His infirmities were increasing, and he was occupied a good deal with his writings. Even if there be some exaggeration in this, for it is not in an advocate's power always to be on the winning side, the tradition shows that he was extraordinarily able and successful. Hi readers, it seems you use Catholic Online a lot; that's great! 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. He was baptized two days later in the church of Our Lady of the Virgins, in Naples. At three different times in his missions, while preaching, a ray of light from a picture of Our Lady darted towards him, and he fell into an ecstasy before the people. d.kellysaintalphonsus.com Website Website Website Website Website Alyce Gilarski Business Manager / Ministry of Care 847-255-7452, x143 a.gilarskisaintalphonsus.com Dr. Carol Holden DRE, Grades K-8 847-255-9490 x116 c.holdensaintalphonsus.com Dee Munroe Religious Education Administrative Assistant 847-255-9490 x104 d.munroesaintalphonsus.com This occurred twice. CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA: St. Alphonsus Liguori - New Advent Any unauthorized use, without prior written consent of Catholic Online is strictly forbidden and prohibited. New York: Robert Appleton Company. With the aid of two laymen, Peter Barbarese, a schoolmaster, and Nardone, an old soldier, both of whom he converted from an evil life, he enrolled thousands of lazzaroni in a sort of confraternity called the "Association of the Chapels", which exists to this day. Daily Reading for Sunday, March 5th, 2023, Continue reading about St. Alphonsus Marie Liguori, Almsgiving, Prayer, and Fasting: The Three Pillars of Lent. [5], A gifted musician and composer, he wrote many popular hymns and taught them to the people in parish missions. Stay up to date with the latest news, information, and special offers. His works have gone through several thousand editions and have been translated into more than 60 languages. Saint Alphonsus Liguori | Franciscan Media This Novena for the Holy Souls in Purgatory was written by St. Alphonsus Liguori (1696-1787), a bishop and founder of the Redemptorist order, and one of the Doctors of the Church. When the day came the future Saint made a brilliant opening speech and sat down confident of victory. In liturgical art he is depicted as bent over with rheumatism or as a young priest. Twelve years, however, still separated him from his reward, years for the most part not of peace but of greater afflictions than any which had yet befallen him. He spent several years having to drink from tubes because his head was so bent forward. Our editors will review what youve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. where the Hosts were buried. The Glories of Mary - Wikipedia In fact, in the beginning, the young priest in his humility would not be Superior even of the house, judging one of his companions, John Baptist Donato, better fitted for the post because he had already had some experience of community life in another institute. [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. In April 1729, Alphonsus went to live at the "Chiflese College," founded in Naples by Father Matthew Ripa, the Apostle of China. 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). Resuming the General Audiences after the summer break the last was held on 27 June in the Vatican the Pope . There are many editions of the Saint's Moral Theology; the best and latest is that of P. GAUDI, C.SS.R. Miraculous Stories of the Blessed Virgin Mary : Saint Alphonsus De His sermons were very effective at converting those who had been alienated from their faith. 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. Alphonsus, having got so much, hoped to get a little more, and through his friend, Mgr. . He could never have said Mass again had not an Augustinian prior shown him how to support himself on a chair so that with the assistance of an acolyte he could raise the chalice to his lips. In 1762 he was appointed Bishop of Sant'Agata dei Goti. Saint Alphonsus Liguori; Revelation Delivered Through Frances Marie Klug Alphonsus, however, stood firm; soon other companions arrived, and though Scala itself was given up by the Fathers in 1738, by 1746 the new Congregation had four houses at Nocera de' Pagani, Ciorani, Iliceto (now Deliceto), and Caposele, all in the Kingdom of Naples. Alphonsus left the Hospital and went to the church of the Redemption of Captives. There he met Bishop Thomas Falcoia, founder of the Congregation of Pious Workers. Cavalieri, himself a great servant of God. 1. The "Moral Theology", after a historical introduction by the Saint's friend, P. Zaccaria, S.J., which was omitted, however, from the eighth and ninth editions, begins with a treatise "De Conscientia", followed by one "De Legibus". Even its Rule was made known to her. [16] The 21,500 editions and the translations into 72 languages that his works have undergone attest to the fact that he is one of the most widely-read Catholic authors. Please help support the mission of New Advent and get the full contents of this website as an instant download. Some persons, boasting of being free from prejudices, take great credit to themselvesfor believing no miracles but those recorded in the holy scriptures, esteeming all others. In a riot which took place during the terrible famine that fell upon Southern Italy in 1764, he saved the life of the syndic of St. Agatha by offering his own to the mob. To prevent the ship going to pieces on the rocks, it has need of a very responsive rudder, answering to the slightest pressure of Divine guidance. at last came peace, and on 1 August, 1787, as the midday Angelus was ringing, the Saint passed peacefully to his reward. He was ordained on December 21, 1726, and he spent six years giving missions throughout Naples. The favors and graces by which God attested his sanctity 526 CHAPTER XXXVI. Soon after this the boy began his studies for the Bar, and about the age of nineteen practised his profession in the courts. 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. I have been mistaken. The fifth book has two treatises "De Actibus Humanis" and "De Peccatis"; the sixth is on the sacraments, the seventh and last on the censures of the Church. Saint Alphonsus Maria de' Liguori, C.Ss.R. Most were in favour of accepting, but the superior objected and appealed to Filangieri, Falcoia's colleague in establishing the convent, and now, as General of the "Pii Operarii", his superior. Believe me who have experienced it, and now weep over it." An Act of Spiritual CommunionA Daily Catholic Prayer - Learn Religions Brown Scapular Miracles Blessed Clement Hofbauer joined the Redemptorist congregation in the aged Saint's lifetime, though Alphonsus never saw in the flesh the man whom he knew would be the second founder of his Order. But how was Alphonsus to grow in this so necessary virtue when he was in authority nearly all his life? In 1871 he was named a doctor of the church by Pope Pius IX. (Rome, 1896). Very few remarks upon his own times occur in the Saint's letters. by S. HORNER (Edinburgh, 1858); VON REUMONT, Die Carafa von Maddaloni (Berlin, 1851, 2 vols. In 1723 there was a lawsuit in the courts between a Neapolitan nobleman, whose name has not come down to us, and the Grand Duke of Tuscany, in which property valued at 500,000 ducats, that to say, $500,000 or 100,000 pounds, was at stake. [5] 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 was a man of strong passions, using the term in the philosophic sense, and tremendous energy, but from childhood his passions were under control. "St. Alphonsus Liguori." His own prayer was perhaps for the most part what some call "active", others "ordinary", contemplation. The dissensions even spread to the nuns, and Sister Maria Celeste herself left Scala and founded a convent at Foggia, where she died in the odour of sanctity, 14 September, 1755. The other was not to be long delayed. Could he have been what an Anglo-Saxon would consider a miracle of calm, he would have seemed to his companions absolutely inhuman. In 1871, Alphonsus was declared a Doctor of the Church by Pope Pius IX. St. Alphonsus was so scrupulous about truth that when, in 1776, the regalist, Mgr. He was a lawyer, not only during his years at the Bar, but throughout his whole life--a lawyer, who to skilled advocacy and an enormous knowledge of practical detail added a wide and luminous hold of underlying principles. In 1950 he was named patron saint of moralists and confessors by Pope Pius XII. Still it must in fairness be admitted that all priests are not great theologians able to estimate intrinsic probability at its true worth, and the Church herself might be held to have conceded something to pure probabilism by the unprecedented honours she paid to the Saint in her Decree of 22 July, 1831, which allows confessors to follow any of St. Alphonsus's own opinions without weighing the reasons on which they were based. St. Louis, MO 63106 | parish130@archstl.org | Tel: (314) 533-0304. She was told to write it down and show it to the director of the convent, that is to Falcoia himself. . 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. Moral Theology (also known as the Theologia Moralis) is a nine-volume work concerning Catholic moral theology written between 1748 and 1785 by Alphonsus Liguori, a Catholic theologian and Doctor of the Church.This work is not to be confused with Theologia moralis universa ad mentem S. Alphonsi, a 19th-century treatise by Pietro Scavini written in the philosophical tradition of Alphonsus Liguori. CARDINAL CAPECELATRO has also written a life of the Saint, La Vita di Sant' Alfonso Maria de Liguori (Rome, 2 vols.). ), was published by P. KUNTZ, C.SS.R., director of the Roman archives of his Congregation. His best plan would have been to consult the Holy See, but in this he had been forestalled. Alphonsus Liguori | Saints Resource When the Saint began to hear confessions, however, he soon saw the harm done by rigorism, and for the rest of his life he inclined more to the mild school of the Jesuit theologians, whom he calls "the masters of morals". The Vicar General, Monsignor Onorati drew up the minutes of the diocesan trial which lasted two years from 1772 to 1774. 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." A religious founder, consummate theologian, and holy man of God, Saint Alphonsus never failed to utter a stirring word that draws out a lively penitence and redoubled dedication to the work of God from his congregation. On 28 August, 1723, the young advocate had gone to perform a favourite act of charity by visiting the sick in the Hospital for Incurables. What are Revelations? It's a little awkward to ask, but we need your help. These form the first book of the work, while the second contains the treatises on Faith, Hope, and Charity. Alphonsus, however, was unflagging in his efforts with the Court. This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain:Herbermann, Charles, ed. In bestowing the title of "Prince of Moral Theologians", the church also gave the "unprecedented honour she paid to the Saint in her Decree of 22 July 1831, which allows confessors to follow any of St. Alphonsus's own opinions without weighing the reasons on which they were based". [7] It was there that he began his missionary experience in the interior regions of the Kingdom of Naples, where he found people who were much poorer and more abandoned than any of the street children in Naples. The difficulty about strong wills and strong passions is that they are hard to tame, but when they are tamed they are the raw material of sanctity. 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. Includes the Catholic Encyclopedia, Church Fathers, Summa, Bible and more all for only $19.99 Born at Marianella, near Naples, 27 September, 1696; died at Nocera de' Pagani, 1 August, 1787. The Holy Mass, Eugene Grimm ed., Benziger Brothers, New York, 1887, Liguori, Alphonsus. 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. Psychologically, Alphonsus may be classed among twice-born souls; that is to say, there was a definitely marked break or conversion, in his life, in which he turned, not from serious sin, for that he never committed, but from comparative worldliness, to thorough self-sacrifice for God. Infidelity and impiety were gaining ground; Voltaire and Rousseau were the idols of society; and the ancien rgime, by undermining religion, its one support, was tottering to its fall. Alphonsus's father, Don Joseph de' Liguori was a naval officer and Captain of the Royal Galleys. Castle, Harold. The poor advocate turned pale. Pope Benedict XIV gave his approval for the men's congregation in 1749 and for the women's in 1750. MLA citation. He answered emphatically: "Never! St. Alphonsus Liguori: Doctor of The Church - Catholic Tradition From his earliest years he had an anxious fear about committing sin which passed at times into scruple. "[17][18], Liguori's greatest contribution to the Catholic Church was in the area of moral theology. God, however, intended the new institute to begin with these nuns of Scala. Both of them were canonized on the same day as the Holy Doctor, 26 May, 1839. 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. Confident that some special sacrifice was required of him, though he did not yet know what, he did not return to his profession, but spent his days in prayer, seeking to know God's will. Alphonsus Mary Antony John Cosmas Damian Michael Gaspard de' Liguori was born in his father's country house at Marianella near Naples, on Tuesday, 27 September, 1696. In the 12th and 13th centuries, the tradition of praying the stations of the cross began to develop. St. Alphonsus Mary de Liguori, Doctor of the Church . At the age of sixteen, on 21 January, 1713, he took his degree as Doctor of Laws, although twenty was the age fixed by the statutes. He was not allowed to resign his see, however, until 1775. The boy was bright and quick beyond his years, and made great progress in all kinds of learning. In the minutes it was This was to be a momentous revolution for Alphonsus. In the end the Rule was so altered as to be hardly recognizable, the very vows of religion being abolished. Finally, St. Alphonsus was a wonderful letter-writer, and the mere salvage of his correspondence amounts to 1,451 letters, filling three large volumes. It may be he was even too anxious, and on one occasion when he was over-whelmed by a fresh refusal, his friend the Marquis Brancone, Minister for Ecclesiastical Affairs and a man of deep piety, said to him gently: "It would seem as if you placed all your trust here below"; on which the Saint recovered his peace of mind. Shrines were built there and at St. Agatha of the Goths. (London, 1904). If any reader of this article will go to original sources and study the Saint's life at greater length, he will not find his labour thrown away. [4], Liguori learned to ride and fence but was never a good shot because of poor eyesight. He died on August 1 at Nocera. Learn interesting facts and tidbits about the beloved St. Patrick. As it was, he was refused the royal exequatur to the Brief of Benedict XIV, and State recognition of his Institute as a religious congregation till the day of his death. To all his administrative work we must add his continual literary labours, his many hours of daily prayer, his terrible austerities, and a stress of illness which made his life a martyrdom. [12], He was beatified on 15 September 1816 by Pope Pius VII and canonized on 26 May 1839 by Pope Gregory XVI.[13][14]. Ever mindful of his own sins, Saint Alphonsus saw prayer for the faithful departed as one of the chief duties of Christian charity.