In this day and San Felipe Neri want to offer this distinguished and holy our modest tribute to publish it made a brief biography of Catholic Encyclopedia (in Castilian and English) and a brief period in his honor, consisting of the prayer composed by Cardinal Baronius and the Litany of the Holy, due to the inspired pen of Blessed John Henry Cardinal Newman (in Latin, Castilian and English). As a climax will be the prayer of the Blessed St. Philip Newman Neri asked the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit, timely given that we are in full octave of Pentecost. This hope will be of benefit to you our readers. We only note that these exercises of private devotion, litanies not found among so-called authentic
Romulo Neri San Felipe
The Apostle of Rome
Born in Florence, Italy on July 22, 1515, died on May 27, 1595. Philip's family originally came from Castelfranco, but had lived for generations in Florence, where many of their members had practiced professions, and therefore took rank with the Tuscan nobility. Among them was Philip's own father, Francesco Neri, who eked out an insufficient private fortune with what he earned as a notary. A circumstance which had no small influence on the life of the saint was Francesco's friendship with the Dominicans, it was from the friars of San Marco, amid the memories of Savonarola, that Philip received many of his early religious impressions. Apart from a younger brother, who died in early childhood, Philip had two younger sisters, Caterina and Elisabetta. It was with them that "the good Pippo" as he soon began to be called, committed his only known fault. Gave a slight push to Caterina, because she kept interrupting him and Elisabetta, while they were reciting psalms together, a practice that, as a child, he was remarkably fond. An incident of his childhood is dear to his early biographers as the first visible intervention of Providence in their favor, and perhaps dearer still to his modern disciples, because it reveals the human characteristics of a boy amid the supernatural graces of a saint . When I was about eight years he was left alone in a courtyard to amuse himself, seeing a donkey laden with fruit, he jumped on his back, the animal bolted, and both fell into a deep cellar. His parents rushed to the spot and extricated the child, not dead, as feared, but entirely uninjured.
From the outset it was evident that Philip's career would run on no conventional lines, when he was shown the pedigree of his family, broke, and left him indifferent to burn the house of his father. Having studied the humanities under the best scholars of a scholarly generation, at the age of sixteen he was sent to help business to a cousin of his father in San Germano, near Monte Cassino. He applied himself with diligence, and his kinsman soon determined to make his heir. But he often retreated to a little mountain chapel belonging to the Benedictines of Monte Cassino, built above the port of Gaeta in the cleft of the rock which tradition says was among those at the time of the death of Our Lord. It was here that his vocation became definite: he was called to be the Apostle of Rome. In 1533 he arrived in Rome without any money. He had not informed his father of the step he was taking, and he had deliberately protecting your relative. However, once befriended by Galeotto Caccia, a Florentine resident, who gave him a room in your house and an allowance of flour, in return for which he undertook the education of their two children. For seventeen years Philip lived as a layman in Rome, probably without thinking of becoming a priest. It was perhaps while tutor to the children, he wrote most of the poetry which he composed both in Latin and Italian. Before his death he burned all his writings, and only some of his sonnets have survived. He spent three years beginning in 1535, the study of philosophy at the Sapienza, and theology at Augustinian school. When he considered he had learned enough, he sold his books and gave the proceeds to the poor. Although he never again made study his occupation, whenever he was invited to cast aside his habitual reticence, he would surprise the most enlightened with depth and clarity of his theological knowledge.
now devoted himself entirely to the sanctification of his own soul and the good of his neighbor. His active apostolate began with solitary and unobtrusive visits to hospitals. Next he induced others to accompany him. Then he began to frequent the shops, stores, banks and public places of Rome, melting the hearts of those whom he chanced to meet, and exhorting them to serve God. In 1544, or later, he became friends with San Ignacio. Many of his disciples tried and found their vocations in the infant Society of Jesus, but most remained in the world, and formed the core of what later became the Brotherhood of the Little Oratory. Although he "appeared not fasting to men", his private life was that of a hermit. Their single daily meal was bread and water, which were sometimes added some herbs, the furniture of his room consisted of a bed, which usually preferred the floor, a table, some chairs, and a rope to hang your clothes, and he disciplined himself frequently with small chains. Tried by fierce temptations, diabolical and human, went through them all unscathed, and the purity of his soul manifested itself in certain striking physical traits. He prayed at first mostly in the church San Eustachio, hard by Caccia's house. Then he began to visit the seven churches. But it was in the catacombs of San Sebastiano, confounded by early biographers with that of San Callisto - which had the longest vigils and received the most abundant consolations. In this catacomb, a few days before Pentecost in 1544, took place the famous miracle of his heart. Bacci describes it thus: "While I was with the utmost seriousness by asking the Holy Ghost His gifts, there appeared to him a globe of fire which entered his mouth and lodged in his chest, and thereupon he was suddenly surprised with such a fire of love , who, unable to bear it, he threw the ground, and as he tries to cool himself, bared his breast to temper in some measure the flame she felt. When he had remained so for a while and was a little recovered, he rose up full of unwonted joy, and immediately all his body began to shake with a violent trembling, and put his hand on his chest, felt by the side of his heart a swelling about as big as a man's fist, but neither then nor afterwards was it attended with the slightest injury or wound. " The cause of this swelling was discovered by the doctors who examined his body after death. The saint's heart had been dilated under the sudden impulse of love, and having sufficient room to move, two ribs were broken, and curved in an arc. From the moment of the miracle till his death, his heart would palpitate violently whenever he performed any spiritual action.
During his last years as a layman, Philip's apostolate spread rapidly. In 1548, together with his confessor, Persiano Rosa, he founded the Confraternity of the Holy Trinity for looking after pilgrims and convalescents. Its members met for Communion, prayer and other spiritual exercises in the church of San Salvatore, and the saint himself introduced the exposition of the Blessed Sacrament once a month (the Forty Hours devotion.) In these devotions Philip preached, though still a layman, and we know that on one occasion he converted no less than thirty dissolute youths. In 1550 he presented the question of whether he should not discontinue his active work and retire into absolute solitude. His perplexity was set at rest by a vision of San Juan Bautista, and by another vision of two souls in glory, one of which was eating a bread roll, which meant the will of God that he lived in Rome for the good of souls as if in a desert, abstaining as far as possible the use of meat.
In 1551, however, was a true vocation from God. Bidding of his confessor - nothing short of this would overcome his humility - he entered the priesthood and moved to San Girolamo, where a staff of chaplains was supported by the Confraternity of Charity. Each priest had two rooms assigned to him, in which he lived, slept and ate, no other rule but to live in charity with his brethren. Among the new co-Felipe, besides Persiano Rosa, was Buonsignore Cacciaguerra, a remarkable penitent, who was at that time conducting a vigorous propaganda in favor of frequent communion. Philip, who as a layman had been quietly encouraging the frequent reception of the sacraments, spent all his priestly energy in promoting the same cause, but unlike of its precursor, he recommended the young especially to confess more often than they communicated. The church of San Girolamo was much frequented even before the arrival of Philip, and his confession soon became the center of a mighty apostolate. He stayed in church, hearing confessions or ready to hear, from dawn until nearly noon, and not content with this, he usually confessed some forty persons in his room before dawn. That worked untiringly throughout his long priesthood. As a physician of souls he received wonderful gifts from God. He would sometimes tell a penitent his most secret sins without the confession, and once turned a noble young man showing a vision of hell. Shortly before noon he would leave his confessional to say mass. His devotion to the Blessed Sacrament, as the miracle of his heart, is one of those manifestations of sanctity which are peculiarly his own. So great was the fervor of his charity, which in turn collected before Mass, I had to use deliberate means of distraction to deal with the external rite. During the last five years of his life he had permission to celebrate privately in a small chapel next to his room. In the "Agnus Dei" the servant went out, locked the doors and hung a notice: "Silence, the Father is saying Mass". When he returned in two hours or longer the saint was so absorbed in God that seemed on the verge of dying.
Philip devoted his afternoons to men and boys, inviting them to informal meetings in his room, taking them to visit churches, interesting himself in their amusements, hallowing with his sweet influence every aspect of their lives. At one time he had a strong desire to follow the example of San Francisco Javier, and go to India. With this end in view, he hastened the ordination of some of their peers. But in 1557 he sought the counsel of a Cistercian at Tre Fontane, and as on a previous occasion he had been told to make Rome his desert, so now the monk told him that he had a revelation St. John the Evangelist, that Rome should be your India. Philip at once abandoned the idea of \u200b\u200bgoing abroad, and the following year informal meetings in his room developed into regular spiritual exercises in an oratory, which built on the church. In these exercises laymen preached and the excellence of the speeches, the high quality of the music and the charm of Philip's personality attracted not only the humble and lowly, but men of high rank and distinction in the Church and the State. Of these, in 1590, Cardinal Niccolo Sfondrato, became Pope Gregory XIV, and the extreme reluctance of the saint alone prevented the pontiff from forcing him to accept the cardinal. In 1559, Philip began to organize regular visits to the seven churches, accompanied by crowds of men, priests and religious, and laymen of every rank and condition. These visits were the occasion of a short but sharp persecution from certain malicious faction, who denounced him as "a creator of new sects." The cardinal vicar himself summoned him, and without hearing his defense, rebuked him in the strongest terms. For a fortnight the saint was suspended from hearing confessions, but after that time he made his defense, and cleared himself before the ecclesiastical authorities.
In 1562, the Florentines in Rome begged him to accept the office of pastor of his church, San Giovanni dei Fiorentini, but he was reluctant to leave San Girolamo. Eventually the matter was brought before Pius IV, and a compromise was reached in 1564. While staying in San Girolamo, Philip became rector of S. Giovanni, and sent five priests, one of whom was Baronius, to represent him there. They lived in community under Philip as their superior, taking their meals together, and regularly attending the exercises at S. Girolamo. In 1574, however, the exercises began to be held in a chapel in San Giovanni. Meanwhile the community was growing in size, and in 1575 was formally recognized by Gregory XIII as the Congregation of the Oratory, and was given the church of Santa Maria in Vallicella. The parents came to live here in 1577, the year they opened the Chiesa Nuova, built on the site of the old Santa Maria, and transferred to a new oratory exercises. Philip himself remained at S. Girolamo till 1583, and only in obedience to Gregory XIII that he then left his old home and came to live at the Vallicella. The last years of his life were marked by illness and recovery options. In 1593, he showed the true greatness of one who knows the limits of his endurance, and resigned the office of superior which had been conferred for life. In 1594, when he was in an agony of pain, the Blessed Virgin appeared and healed him. In late March 1595, had a severe attack of fever, which lasted throughout April, but in response to his special prayer God gave him strength to say Mass on May 1 in honor of Saints Philip and James. The following 12 May he was seized with a violent haemorrhage, and Cardinal Baronius, who had succeeded him as superior, gave him last rites. After that he seemed to revive and his friend Cardinal Frederick Borromeo brought him the allowance, which he received with loud protestations of his own unworthiness. Next day he was perfectly fine, and even the day of his death went from their normal duties, even reciting the Divine Office, which was dispensed. But May 15, predicted that he had only ten days of life. On May 25, the feast of Corpus Christi was to say Mass in his little chapel, two hours earlier than usual. "At the beginning of his Mass", writes Bacci, "he remained a while staring at the hill of S. Onofrio, which was visible from the chapel, as if he saw some great vision. Upon arrival at the Gloria in Excelsis started singing, which was an unusual thing in it, and sang the whole with the greatest joy and devotion, and all the rest of the Mass he said with extraordinary exultation, as if singing. " He was in perfect health for the rest of that day, and made his usual night prayer, but when I was in bed, he predicted the hour of the night of his death. About an hour after midnight Antonio Gallonio father, who slept under him, heard him walking up and down, and went to his room. He found him lying on his bed, suffering from another haemorrhage. "Antonio, I'm going," he said; Gallonio sent for physicians and parents of the congregation. Cardinal Baronius made the commendation of the soul, and asked parents to give their final blessing. The saint raised his hand slightly, and looked skyward. Then, tilting his head towards the fathers, expired. Philip was beatified by Paul V in 1615 and canonized by Gregory XV in 1622. It
perhaps by the method of contrast as we realize more clearly the distinctive features of San Felipe and his work. We salute you as the patient reformer who leaves outward things alone and works from within, depending rather on the hidden might of sacrament and prayer than on drastic policies of external improvement, the director of souls who attaches more value to mortification of the reason than to bodily austerities, protests that men may become saints in the world no less than in the cloister, stresses the importance of serving God with a joyful spirit, and gives a quaintly humorous turn to the maxims of ascetical theology; the silent watcher of time, not taking an active part in ecclesiastical controversies and still is a driving force of development, now encouraging the use of ecclesiastical history as a bulwark against Protestantism, now insisting on the absolution of a monarch, others directors wished to exclude from the sacraments, prayer begging God to warn threatened condemnation and receiving a miraculous assurance that his prayer is heard, the founder of a congregation that is based more on personal influence than on disciplinary organization, and prefers the spontaneous practice of counsels of perfection to their enforcement through votes, and above all, the saint of God, which is so irresistibly attractive, so eminently lovable in himself, to achieve the title of "Amabile santo".
Transcribed by Herman F. Holbrook for Reverend David Martin, a priest of the Oratory in London. Translated by Francisco Vázquez
St. Philip Romolo Neri
THE APOSTLE OF ROME
Born at Florence, Italy, July 22, 1515, Died 27 May, 1595. Philip's family originally from Castelfranco meat But Had Lived for Many Generations in Florence, where not to FEW members of STI Had Learned Practise the professions, and THEREFORE Took rank with the Tuscan Nobility. These WAS Among Philip's own father, Francesco Neri, who eked out an insufficient private fortune with what he earned as a notary. A circumstance which had no small influence on the life of the saint was Francesco's friendship with the Dominicans; for it was from the friars of S. Marco, amid the memories of Savonarola, that Philip received many of his early religious impressions. Besides a younger brother, who died in early childhood, Philip had two younger sisters, Caterina and Elisabetta. It was with them that "the good Pippo", as he soon began to be called, committed his only known fault. He gave a slight push to Caterina, because she kept interrupting him and Elisabetta, while they were reciting psalms together, a practice of which, as a boy, he was remarkably fond. One incident of his childhood is dear to his early biographers as the first visible intervention of Providence on his behalf, and perhaps dearer still to his modern disciples, because it reveals the human characteristics of a boy amid the supernatural graces of a saint. When about eight years old he was left alone in a courtyard to amuse himself; seeing a donkey laden with fruit, he jumped on its back; the beast bolted, and both tumbled into a deep cellar. His parents hastened to the spot and extricated the child, not dead, as they feared, but entirely uninjured.
From the first it was evident that Philip's career would run on no conventional lines; when shown his family pedigree he tore it up, and the burning of his father's house left him unconcerned. Having studied the humanities under the best scholars of a scholarly generation, at the age of sixteen he was sent to help his father's cousin in business at S. Germano, near Monte Cassino. He applied himself with diligence, and his kinsman soon determined to make him his heir. But he would often withdraw for prayer to a little mountain chapel belonging to the Benedictines of Monte Cassino, built above the harbour of Gaeta in a cleft of rock which tradition says was among those rent at the hour of Our Lord's death. It was here that his vocation became definite: he was called to be the Apostle of Rome. In 1533 he arrived in Rome without any money. He had not informed his father of the step he was taking, and he had deliberately cut himself off from his kinsman's patronage. He was, however, at once befriended by Galeotto Caccia, a Florentine resident, who gave him a room in his house and an allowance of flour, in return for which he undertook the education of his two sons. For seventeen years Philip lived as a layman in Rome, probably without thinking of becoming a priest. It was perhaps while tutor to the boys, that he wrote most of the poetry which he composed both in Latin and in Italian. Before his death he burned all his writings, and only a few of his sonnets have come down to us. He spent some three years, beginning about 1535, in the study of philosophy at the Sapienza, and of theology in the school of the Augustinians. When he considered that he had learnt enough, he sold his books, and gave the price to the poor. Though he never again made study his regular occupation, whenever he was called upon to cast aside his habitual reticence, he would surprise the most learned with the depth and clearness of his theological knowledge.
He now devoted himself entirely to the sanctification of his own soul and the good of his neighbour. His active apostolate began with solitary and unobtrusive visits to the hospitals. Next he induced others to accompany him. Then he began to frequent the shops, warehouses, banks, and public places of Rome, melting the hearts of those whom he chanced to meet, and exhorting them to serve God. In 1544, or later, he became the friend of St. Ignatius. Many of his disciples tried and found their vocations in the infant Society of Jesus; but the majority remained in the world, and formed the nucleus of what afterwards became the Brotherhood of the Little Oratory. Though he "appeared not fasting to men", his private life was that of a hermit. His single daily meal was of bread and water, to which a few herbs were sometimes added, the furniture of his room consisted of a bed, to which he usually preferred the floor, a table, a few chairs, and a rope to hang his clothes on; and he disciplined himself frequently with small chains. Tried by fierce temptations, diabolical as well as human, he passed through them all unscathed, and the purity of his soul manifested itself in certain striking physical traits. He prayed at first mostly in the church of S. Eustachio, hard by Caccia's house. Next he took to visiting the Seven Churches. But it was in the catacomb of S. Sebastiano — confounded by early biographers with that of S. Callisto — that he kept the longest vigils and received the most abundant consolations. In this catacomb, a few days before Pentecost in 1544, the well-known miracle of his heart took place. Bacci describes it thus: "While he was with the greatest earnestness asking of the Holy Ghost His gifts, there appeared to him a globe of fire, which entered into his mouth and lodged in his breast; and thereupon he was suddenly surprised with such a fire of love, that, unable to bear it, he threw himself on the ground, and, like one trying to cool himself, bared his breast to temper in some measure the flame which he felt. When he had remained so for some time, and was a little recovered, he rose up full of unwonted joy, and immediately all his body began to shake with a violent tremour; and putting his hand to his bosom, he felt by the side of his heart, a swelling about as big as a man's fist, but neither then nor afterwards was it attended with the slightest pain or wound." The cause of this swelling was discovered by the doctors who examined his body after death. The saint's heart had been dilated under the sudden impulse of love, and in order that it might have sufficient room to move, two ribs had been broken, and curved in the form of an arch. From the time of the miracle till his death, his heart would palpitate violently whenever he performed any spiritual action.
During his last years as a layman, Philip's apostolate spread rapidly. In 1548, together with his confessor, Persiano Rosa, he founded the Confraternity of the Most Holy Trinity for looking after pilgrims and convalescents. Its members met for Communion, prayer, and other spiritual exercises in the church of S. Salvatore, and the saint himself introduced exposition of the Blessed Sacrament once a month. At these devotions Philip preached, though still a layman, and we learn that on one occasion alone he converted no less than thirty dissolute youths. In 1550 a doubt occurred to him as to whether he should not discontinue his active work and retire into absolute solitude. His perplexity was set at rest by a vision of St. John the Baptist, and by another vision of two souls in glory, one of whom was eating a roll of bread, signifying God's will that he should live in Rome for the good of souls as though he were in a desert, abstaining as far as possible from the use of meat.
In 1551, however, he received a true vocation from God. At the bidding of his confessor — nothing short of this would overcome his humility — he entered the priesthood, and went to live at S. Girolamo, where a staff of chaplains was supported by the Confraternity of Charity. Each priest had two rooms assigned to him, in which he lived, slept, and ate, under no rule save that of living in charity with his brethren. Among Philip's new companions, besides Persiano Rosa, was Buonsignore Cacciaguerra (see "A Precursor of St. Philip" by Lady Annabel Kerr, London), a remarkable penitent, who was at that time carrying on a vigorous propaganda in favour of frequent Communion. Philip, who as a layman had been quietly encouraging the frequent reception of the sacraments, expended the whole of his priestly energy in promoting the same cause; but unlike his precursor, he recommended the young especially to confess more often than they communicated. The church of S. Girolamo was much frequented even before the coming of Philip, and his confessional there soon became the centre of a mighty apostolate. He stayed in church, hearing confessions or ready to hear them, from daybreak till nearly midday, and not content with this, he usually confessed some forty persons in his room before dawn. Thus he laboured untiringly throughout his long priesthood. As a physician of souls he received marvellous gifts from God. He would sometimes tell a penitent his most secret sins without his confessing them; and once he converted a young nobleman by showing him a vision of hell. Shortly before noon he would leave his confessional to say Mass. His devotion to the Blessed Sacrament, like the miracle of his heart, is one of those manifestations of sanctity which are peculiarly his own. So great was the fervour of his charity, that, instead of recollecting himself before Mass, he had to use deliberate means of distraction in order to attend to the external rite. During the last five years of his life he had permission to celebrate privately in a little chapel close to his room. At the "Agnus Dei" the server went out, locked the doors, and hung up a notice: "Silence, the Father is saying Mass". When he returned in two hours or more, the saint was so absorbed in God that he seemed to be at the point of death.
Philip devoted his afternoons to men and boys, inviting them to informal meetings in his room, taking them to visit churches, interesting himself in their amusements, hallowing with his sweet influence every department of their lives. At one time he had a longing desire to follow the example of St. Francis Xavier, and go to India. With this end in view, he hastened the ordination of some of his companions. But in 1557 he sought the counsel of a Cistercian at Tre Fontane; and as on a former occasion he had been told to make Rome his desert, so now the monk communicated to him a revelation he had had from St. John the Evangelist, that Rome was to be his India. Philip at once abandoned the idea of going abroad, and in the following year the informal meetings in his room developed into regular spiritual exercises in an oratory, which he built over the church. At these exercises laymen preached and the excellence of the discourses, the high quality of the music, and the charm of Philip's personality attracted not only the humble and lowly, but men of the highest rank and distinction in Church and State. Of these, in 1590, Cardinal Nicolo Sfondrato, became Pope Gregory XIV, and the extreme reluctance of the saint alone prevented the pontiff from forcing him to accept the cardinalate. In 1559, Philip began to organize regular visits to the Seven Churches, in company with crowds of men, priests and religious, and laymen of every rank and condition. These visits were the occasion of a short but sharp persecution on the part of a certain malicious faction, who denounced him as "a setter-up of new sects". The cardinal vicar himself summoned him, and without listening to his defence, rebuked him in the harshest terms. For a fortnight the saint was suspended from hearing confessions; but at the end of that time he made his defence, and cleared himself before the ecclesiastical authorities. In 1562, the Florentines in Rome begged him to accept the office of rector of their church, S. Giovanni dei Fiorentini, but he was reluctant to leave S. Girolamo. At length the matter was brought before Pius IV, and a compromise was arrived at (1564). While remaining himself at S. Girolamo, Philip became rector of S. Giovanni, and sent five priests, one of whom was Baronius, to represent him there. They lived in community under Philip as their superior, taking their meals together, and regularly attending the exercises at S. Girolamo. In 1574, however, the exercises began to be held in an oratory at S. Giovanni. Meanwhile the community was increasing in size, and in 1575 it was formally recognised by Gregory XIII as the Congregation of the Oratory, and given the church of S. Maria in Vallicella. The fathers came to live there in 1577, in which year they opened the Chiesa Nuova, built on the site of the old S. Maria, and transferred the exercises to a new oratory. Philip himself remained at S. Girolamo till 1583, and it was only in obedience to Gregory XIII that he then left his old home and came to live at the Vallicella.
The last years of his life were marked by alternate sickness and recovery. In 1593, he showed the true greatness of one who knows the limits of his own endurance, and resigned the office of superior which had been conferred on him for life. In 1594, when he was in an agony of pain, the Blessed Virgin appeared to him, and cured him. At the end of March, 1595, he had a severe attack of fever, which lasted throughout April; but in answer to his special prayer God gave him strength to say Mass on 1 May in honour of SS. Philip and James. On the following 12 May he was seized with a violent haemorrhage, and Cardinal Baronius, who had succeeded him as superior, gave him Extreme Unction. After that he seemed to revive a little and his friend Cardinal Frederick Borromeo brought him the Viaticum, which he received with loud protestations of his own unworthiness. On the next day he was perfectly well, and till the actual day of his death went about his usual duties, even reciting the Divine Office, from which he was dispensed. But on 15 May he predicted that he had only ten more days to live. On 25 May, the feast of Corpus Christi, he went to say Mass in his little chapel, two hours earlier than usual. "At the beginning of his Mass", writes Bacci, "he remained for some time looking fixedly at the hill of S. Onofrio, which was visible from the chapel, just as if he saw some great vision. On coming to the Gloria in Excelsis he began to sing, which was an unusual thing for him, and sang the whole of it with the greatest joy and devotion, and all the rest of the Mass he said with extraordinary exultation, and as if singing." He was in perfect health for the rest of that day, and made his usual night prayer; but when in bed, he predicted the hour of the night at which he would die. About an hour after midnight Father Antonio Gallonio, who slept under him, heard him walking up and down, and went to his room. He found him lying on the bed, suffering from another hemorrhage. "Antonio, I am going", he said; Gallonio thereupon fetched the medical men and the fathers of the congregation. Cardinal Baronius made the commendation of his soul, and asked him to give the fathers his final blessing. The saint raised his hand slightly, and looked up to heaven. Then inclining his head towards the fathers, he breathed his last. Philip was beatified by Paul V in 1615, and canonized by Gregory XV in 1622.
It is perhaps by the method of contrast that the distinctive characteristics of St. Philip and his work are brought home to us most forcibly. We hail him as the patient reformer, who leaves outward things alone and works from within, depending rather on the hidden might of sacrament and prayer than on drastic policies of external improvement; the director of souls who attaches more value to mortification of the reason than to bodily austerities, protests that men may become saints in the world no less than in the cloister, dwells on the importance of serving God in a cheerful spirit, and gives a quaintly humorous turn to the maxims of ascetical theology; the silent watcher of the times, who takes no active part in ecclesiastical controversies and is yet a motive force in their development, now encouraging the use of ecclesiastical history as a bulwark against Protestantism, now insisting on the absolution of a monarch, whom other counsellors would fain exclude from the sacraments, now praying that God may avert a threatened condemnation and receiving a miraculous assurance that his prayer is heard; the founder of a Congregation, which relies more on personal influence than on disciplinary organization, and prefers the spontaneous practice of counsels of perfection to their enforcement by means of vows; above all, the saint of God, who is so irresistibly attractive, so eminently lovable in himself, as to win the title of the "Amabile santo".
Oratio Cardinalis Baronii ad Sanctum Philippum Nerium
Ter Pater, Ave et Gloria Patri cum invocatione:
Sancte Philippe Nerii, ora pro nobis.
Litaniae Sancti Philippi Nerii
Christe eleison.
Kyrie eleison.
Christe, audi nos.
Chiste, exaudi nos.
Pater de coelis Deus, miserere nobis.
Fili, Redemptor mundi, Deus, miserere nobis.
Spiritus Sancte, Deus, miserere nobis.
Sancta Trinitas, unus Deus, miserere nobis.
Sancta Maria, ora pro nobis.
Sancta Dei Genitrix, ora pro nobis.
Sancta Virgo virginum, ora pro nobis.
Sancte Philippe, ora pro nobis.
Vas Spiritus Sancti, ora pro nobis.
Apostolus Romae, ora pro nobis.
Consiliarius Pontificis, ora pro nobis.
Vox fatidica, ora pro nobis.
Vir prisci temporis, ora pro nobis.
Sanctus amabilis, ora pro nobis.
Heros umbratilis, ora pro nobis.
Pater suavissimus, ora pro nobis.
Flos puritatis, ora pro nobis.
Martyr charitatis, ora pro nobis.
Cor flammigerum, ora pro nobis.
Discretor spirituum, ora pro nobis.
Gemma sacerdotum, ora pro nobis.
Vitae divinae speculum, ora pro nobis.
Specimen humilitatis, ora pro nobis.
Exemplar simplicitatis, ora pro nobis.
Lux sanctae laetitiae, ora pro nobis.
Imago pueritiae, ora pro nobis.
Forma senectutis, ora pro nobis.
Rector animarum, ora pro nobis.
Piscator fluctuantium, ora pro nobis.
Manuductor pupillorum, ora pro nobis.
Hospes Angelorum, ora pro nobis.
Qui castitatem adolescens coluisti, ora pro nobis.
Qui Romam divinitus petiisti, ora pro nobis.
Qui multos annos in catacumbis delituisti, ora pro nobis.
Qui ipsum Spiritum in cor recepisti, ora pro nobis.
Qui mirabiles ecstases sustinuisti, ora pro nobis.
Qui parvulis amanter serviisti, ora pro nobis.
Qui peregrinantium pedes lavasti, ora pro nobis.
Qui martyrium ardentissime sitiisti, ora pro nobis.
Qui Verbum Dei quotidianum distribuisti, ora pro nobis.
Qui tot corda ad Deum allexisti, ora pro nobis.
Qui sermones dulces cum Maria contulisti, ora pro nobis.
Qui emortuum ab inferis reduxisti, ora pro nobis.
Qui domos tuas in omni regione constituisti, ora pro nobis.
Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccata mundi, parce nobis, Domine.
Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccata mundi, exaudi nos, Domine.
Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccata mundi, miserere nobis.
V. Ora pro nobis, Sancte Philippe.
R. Ut digni efficiamur promissionibus Christi.
Oremus. Deus, qui Beatum Philippum Confessorem tuum Sanctorum tuorum gloria sublimasti; concede propitius, ut cujus commemoratione laetamur, ejus virtutum proficiamus exemplo. Per Christum Dominum nostrum. R. Amen.
Illo nos igne Spiritus Sanctus inflammet (+) quo Sancti Philippi cor mirabiliter penetravit.
Prayer of Cardinal Baronius to San Felipe Neri
Three Our Fathers, Hail Mary and the invocation Gloriapatris:
San Felipe Neri, pray for us
Litany of San Felipe Neri
Lord, have mercy.
Christ, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy.
Christ, hear us.
Christ, hear us.
heavenly Father, have mercy on us.
God the Son, Redeemer of the world, have mercy on us.
God the Holy Spirit, have mercy on us.
Holy Trinity, one God, have mercy on us.
Holy Mary, pray for us.
Holy Mother of God, pray for us.
Holy Virgin of virgins, pray for us.
San Felipe, pray for us.
receptacle of the Holy Spirit, pray for us. Apostle
Rome, pray for us.
Director of the Pope, pray for us.
prophetic voice, pray for us.
male primeval times, pray for us. Holy
kind, pray for us.
Discreet Hero, pray for us.
softest Father, pray for us.
flower of purity, pray for us.
martyr of charity, pray for us.
Flaming Heart, pray for us. Resolver
spirits, pray for us.
Jewel of priests, pray for us.
mirror of divine life, pray for us.
model of humility, pray for us.
example of simplicity, pray for us.
Light of holy joy, Pray for us. Image
children, pray for us.
Ideal for the elderly, pray for us.
Director of souls, pray for us. Fisher
faltering, pray for us. Guide
youth, pray for us.
Host of Angels, ora pro nobis. You
, which grow from adolescence chastity, pray for us.
You who went to Rome by the will of God, pray for us.
You, to protect you in the shadows of the catacombs, pray for us.
You, you got the heart to the Holy Spirit, pray for us.
You who experienced ecstasy admirable, pray for us.
You, you served with love to the poor, pray for us.
You who washed the feet of pilgrims, pray for us.
You who ardently longed for martyrdom, pray for us. You
, who provide the daily Word of God, pray for us.
You, so many hearts attracted it to God, pray for us.
You who kept it sweet conversations with Mary, pray for us.
You, than a dead man saved from damnation, pray for us.
You, you've set your houses in the world, pray for us.
Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world, spare us, Lord. Lamb
of God who takes away the sins of the world, hear us, Lord.
Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world, have mercy on us.
V. Pray for us, San Felipe Neri.
R. To be worthy of the promises of Christ.
pray. Oh God, that enhances your confessor San Felipe with the glory of your saints, grant suitable for those who rejoice in his commemoration we seize the example of their virtues. Through Christ our Lord. R. Amen.
May the Holy Spirit inflame us with the fire (+) that entered admirably in the heart of San Felipe.
Prayer to St. Philip Neri by Cardinal Baronius
Three times Pater , Ave and Gloria Patri with the invocation:
Litany of St. Philip Neri
Lord, have mercy. Lord, have mercy.
Christ, have mercy. Christ, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy. Lord, have mercy.
Christ, hear us.
Christ, graciously hear us.
God the Father of Heaven, Have mercy on us.
God the Son, Redeemer of the world, Have mercy on us.
God the Holy Spirit, Have mercy on us.
Holy Trinity, One God, Have mercy on us.
Holy Mary, pray for us.
Holy Mother of God, pray for us.
Holy Virgin of Virgins, pray for us.
Saint Philip, pray for us.
Vessel of the Holy Spirit, pray for us.
Child of Mary, pray for us.
Apostle of Rome, pray for us.
Counselor of Popes, pray for us.
Voice of Prophecy, pray for us.
Man of Primitive Times, pray for us.
Winning Saint, pray for us.
Hidden Hero, pray for us.
Sweetest of Fathers, pray for us.
Martyr of Charity, pray for us.
Heart of Fire, pray for us.
Discerner of Spirits, pray for us.
Choicest of Priests, pray for us.
Mirror of the Divine Life, pray for us.
Pattern of humility, pray for us.
Example of Simplicity, pray for us.
Light of Holy Joy, pray for us.
Image of Childhood, pray for us.
Picture of Old Age, pray for us.
Director of Souls, pray for us.
Gentle Guide of Youth, pray for us.
Patron of thine Own, pray for us.
Thou who observed chastity in thy youth, pray for us.
Who sought Rome by Divine guidance, pray for us.
Who hid so long in the catacombs, pray for us.
Who received the Holy Spirit into thy heart, pray for us.
Who experienced such wonderful ecstasies, pray for us.
Who so lovingly served the little ones, pray for us.
Who washed the feet of pilgrims, pray for us.
Who ardently thirsted after martyrdom, pray for us.
Who distributed the daily word of God, pray for us.
Who turned so many hearts to God, pray for us.
Who conversed so sweetly with Mary, pray for us.
Who raised the dead, pray for us.
Who set up thy houses in all lands, pray for us.
Lamb of God, Who takest away the sins of the world, Spare us, O Lord.
Lamb of God, Who takest away the sins of the world, Graciously hear us, O Lord.
Lamb of God, Who takest away the sins of the world, Have mercy on us.
V. Remember thy congregation.
R. Which thou hast possessed from the beginning.
Let Us Pray. O God, Who hast exalted blessed Philip, Thy confessor, in the glory of Thy Saints, grant that, as we rejoice in his commemoration, so may we profit by the example of his virtues, through Christ Our Lord. R. Amen.
May the Holy Ghost burn us with the fire (+) that admirably penetrated Saint Philip’s heart.
Prayer of Blessed John Henry Cardinal Newman to St Philip Neri
to ask the seven where the Holy Spirit
Oh my most beloved protector, San Felipe! We earnestly pray that I do have, by following your example, a true devotion to the Holy Spirit. As at Pentecost He filled your heart with his grace, so grant me the graces necessary for salvation.
Therefore I pray do I get your seven gifts, that my heart is swift and ardent in faith and virtue. Make
get:
the gift of wisdom so that you can prefer the sky to land and distinguish truth from falsehood;
the gift of understanding, so they are printed in my mind the mysteries of the Divine Word
the gift
Council, so you can see my way through the darkness;
the gift of fortitude, to be firm and unyielding in the fight against evil;
Science
the gift, that every thing you do is to pure intention and for the glory of God;
the gift of piety, to be devoted and sensitive conscience, and
the gift of Fear of God, that amid all the spiritual blessings keep submission, respect y sumisión.
¡Oh dulce Padre, flor de pureza, mártir de la caridad: ruega por mí!
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