His austerities were rigorous, and he suffered daily the pain from rheumatism that was beginning to deform his body. In the end the Rule was so altered as to be hardly recognizable, the very vows of religion being abolished. In liturgical art he is depicted as bent over with rheumatism or as a young priest. He knew how to reach ordinary people who had limited education and very real needs. His best plan would have been to consult the Holy See, but in this he had been forestalled. The English translation in the Oratory Series is also rather inadequate. This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain:Herbermann, Charles, ed. 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. It was this which gave St. Alphonsus the bent head which we notice in the portraits of him. In 1731, the convent unanimously adopted the new Rule, together with a habit of red and blue, the traditional colours of Our Lord's own dress. 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. Don Joseph agreed to allow his son to become a priest, provided he would give up his proposal joining the Oratory, and would continue to live at home. 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. 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. The Catholic Encyclopedia. Falcoia, hearing of this, begged his friend to give a retreat to the nuns of his Conservatorium at the same time. He did not, as in the past, ask for an exequatur to the Brief of Benedict XIV, for relations at the time were more strained than ever between the Courts of Rome and Naples; but he hoped the king might give an independent sanction to his Rule, provided he waived all legal right to hold property in common, which he was quite prepared to do. She was told to write it down and show it to the director of the convent, that is to Falcoia himself. Many Miracles are wrought through the intercession of Alphonsus. About the year 1722, when he was twenty-six years old, he began to go constantly into society, to neglect prayer and the practices of piety which had been an integral part of his life, and to take pleasure in the attention with which he was everywhere received. The family was an old and noble one, though the branch to which the Saint belonged had become somewhat impoverished. This was in 1780, when Alphonsus was eighty-three years old. The wine had changed into blood; clotted and separated into 5 different sized clots. 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." Yet, to take anger alone, though comparatively early in life he seemed dead to insult or injury which affected himself, in cases of cruelty, or of injustice to others, or of dishonour to God, he showed a prophet's indignation even in old age. 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. Stay up to date with the latest news, information, and special offers. St. Alphonsus, after publishing anonymously (in 1749 and 1755) two treatises advocating the right to follow the less probable opinion, in the end decided against that lawfulness, and in case of doubt only allowed freedom from obligation where the opinions for and against the law were equal or nearly equal. Nine editions of the "Moral Theology" appeared in the Saint's life-time, those of 1748, 1753-1755, 1757, 1760, 1763, 1767, 1773, 1779, and 1785, the "Annotations to Busembaum" counting as the first. St. Alphonsus Liguori. If civil courts could not decide against a defendant on greater probability, but had to wait, as a criminal court must wait, for moral certainty, many actions would never be decided at all. 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 named the patron of confessors and moral theologians by Pope Pius XII on 26 April 1950, who subsequently wrote of him in the encyclical Haurietis aquas. But when the question was put to the community, opposition began. R. If in some things Alphonsus was an Anglo-Saxon, in others he was a Neapolitan of the Neapolitans, though always a saint. St Alphonsus Mary Liguori and Prayer. He was helped in this by his turn of mind which was extremely practical. Vol. 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. He was taught by tutors before entering the University of Naples, where he graduated with doctorates in civil and canon law at 16. New York: Robert Appleton Company. On 6 April, 1726, he was ordained deacon, and soon after preached his first sermon. This is the great question of "Probabilism". When he heard from her of the devotion of the Rosary, which she practiced, and the letter she had received, he ordered all the others to repeatit, and it is related that this monastery became a paradise. In fact, despite his youth, he seems at the age of twenty-seven to have been one of the leaders of the Neapolitan Bar. Even where he is not that, he may generally be trusted, as he was a Boswell in collecting facts. Alphonsus, however, was unflagging in his efforts with the Court. Clarence F. Galli. When he was preparing for the priesthood in Naples, his masters were of the rigid school, for though the center of Jansenistic disturbance was in northern Europe, no shore was so remote as not to feel the ripple of its waves. a special feature of his method was the return of the missionaries, after an interval of some months, to the scene of their labours to consolidate their work by what was called the "renewal of a mission.". 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. The English translation of the work is projected to be around 5 volumes. Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login). His infirmities were increasing, and he was occupied a good deal with his writings. Alphonsus, having got so much, hoped to get a little more, and through his friend, Mgr. Again, we have a friendship of thirty years with the great Venetian publishing house of Remondini, whose letters from the Saint, carefully preserved as became business men, fill a quarto volume. Finally, St. Alphonsus was a wonderful letter-writer, and the mere salvage of his correspondence amounts to 1,451 letters, filling three large volumes. His very confessor and vicar general in the government of his Order, Father Andrew Villani, joined in the conspiracy. 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. 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. On 23 October of the same year, 1723, the Saint put on the clerical dress. Alphonsus was what we call a "gifted" student today. Liguori wrote 111 works on spirituality and theology. The Decree of 1779, however, seemed a great step in advance. Lord, When Did We See You Hungry or Thirsty or a Stranger or Naked or Ill or in Prison? 1. Could he have been what an Anglo-Saxon would consider a miracle of calm, he would have seemed to his companions absolutely inhuman. His intercession healed the sick; he read the secrets of hearts, and foretold the future. The family was of noble lineage, but the branch to which Liguori belonged had become somewhat impoverished. CARDINAL CAPECELATRO has also written a life of the Saint, La Vita di Sant' Alfonso Maria de Liguori (Rome, 2 vols.). The Neapolitan stage at this time was in a good state, but the Saint had from his earliest years an ascetic repugnance to theatres, a repugnance which he never lost. Soon after this the boy began his studies for the Bar, and about the age of nineteen practised his profession in the courts. Omissions? On 21 December of the same year, at the age of thirty, he was ordained priest. But we must not push resemblances too far. Copyright 2022 Catholic Online. It was this which made him the prince of moral theologians, and gained him, when canonization made it possible, the title of "Doctor of the Church". Your gift is tax-deductible as allowed by law. He was baptized two days later in the church of Our Lady of the Virgins, in Naples. The eighteenth century was not an age remarkable for depth of spiritual life, yet it produced three of the greatest missionaries of the Church, St. Leonard of Port Maurice, St. Paul of the Cross, and St. Alphonsus Liguori. Transcription. What are Revelations? He spent the next few years in recasting this work, and in 1753 appeared the first volume of the "Theologia Moralis", the second volume, dedicated to Benedict XIV, following in 1755. A voice said "This is he whom I have chosen to be head of My Institute, the Prefect General of a new Congregation of men who shall work for My glory." In 1723, he decided to offer himself as a novice to the Oratory of St. Philip Neri with the intention of becoming a priest. It was all-important to the Fathers to be able to rebut the charge of being an illegal religious congregation, which was one of the chief allegations in the ever-adjourned and ever-impending action by Baron Sarnelli. He submitted the new Rule to a number of theologians, who approved of it, and said it might be adopted in the convent of Scala, provided the community would accept it. Alphonsus Liguori was not a favorite with the windbags of his day. Alphonsus wrote profusely on moral, theological, and ascetical subjects [notably his Moral Theology], was constantly engaged in combating anticlericalism and Jansenism, and was involved in several controversies over . He was declared "Venerable", 4 May, 1796; was beatified in 1816, and canonized in 1839. While the continual intensity of reiterated acts of virtue which we have called driving-power is what really creates sanctity, there is another indispensable quality. [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. 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. 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. It has a tendency at every moment to deflect, and if it does deflect from the right path, the greater the momentum the more terrible the final crash. He who ruled and directed others so wisely, had, where his own soul was concerned, to depend on obedience like a little child. 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". If you have already donated, we sincerely thank you. Updates? Among his best known works are The Glories of Mary and The Way of the Cross, the latter still used in parishes during Lenten devotions. Alphonsus' last illness and Deaths 548 CHAPTER XXXVII. at last came peace, and on 1 August, 1787, as the midday Angelus was ringing, the Saint passed peacefully to his reward. [4] He was ordained on 21 December 1726, at the age of 30. (1913). 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. I therefore repeat: If the divine teaching authority of the Church, and the obedience to it, are rejected, every error will be endorsed and must be tolerated. On 3 October, 1731, the eve of the feast of St. Francis, she saw Our Lord with St. Francis on His right hand and a priest on His left. "Let us have it." Please help support the mission of New Advent and get the full contents of this website as an instant download. This article was transcribed for New Advent by Paul T. Crowley. 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. Saint Alphonsus Maria de' Liguori, C.Ss.R. Whenthey had withdrawn into another room, the appearance of the youth changed, and Heshowed Himself crowned with thorns, His flesh torn, and said to her: Prayers in Times of Sickness Disease & Danger, True Devotion to Mary (St. Louis de Montfort), The Glories of Mary (St. Alphonsus Liguori), A young nobleman was reading one day, while at sea, an obscene book, in which he. Saint Alphonsus Liguori 1696 - 1787. About three years before his death he went through a veritable "Night of the Soul". He was beatified in 1816 and canonized in 1839. Though a good dogmatic theologian--a fact which has not been sufficiently recognized--he was not a metaphysician like the great scholastics. His perseverance was indomitable. Castle, H. (1907). Catholic Encyclopedia. But in spite of his infirmities both Clement XIII (1758-69) and Clement XIV (1769-74) obliged Alphonsus to remain at his post. [8] Moreover, Liguori viewed scruples as a blessing at times and wrote: "Scruples are useful in the beginning of conversion. they cleanse the soul, and at the same time make it careful". The saints are not inhuman but real men of flesh and . The Glories of Mary ( Italian: Le glorie di Maria) is a classic book in the field of Roman Catholic Mariology, written during the 18th century by Saint Alphonsus Liguori, a Doctor of the Church . After 1752 Alphonsus gave fewer missions. Actually, the document was a new rule devised by one of his enemies, thus causing the followers of the old rule to break away. St. Alphonsus Mary de Liguori, Doctor of the Church . APA citation. Description [ edit] The book was written at a time when some were criticizing Marian devotions, and was written in part as a defense of Marian devotion. A strong defender of the Catholic Church, Liguori said: To reject the divine teaching of the Catholic Church is to reject the very basis of reason and revelation, for neither the principles of the one nor those of the other have any longer any solid support to rest on; they can then be interpreted by every one as he pleases; every one can deny all truths whatsoever he chooses to deny. [15] The church did not bestow this unique privilege lightly but was due to the extraordinary combination of exceptional knowledge and understanding of church teachings combined with the great precision in which he wrote. Except for the chances of European war, England and Naples were then in different worlds, but Alphonsus may have seen at the side of Don Carlos when he conquered Naples in 1734, an English boy of fourteen who had already shown great gallantry under fire and was to play a romantic part in history, Prince Charles Edward Stuart. He had a tender charity towards all who were in trouble; he would go to any length to try to save a vocation; he would expose himself to death to prevent sin. The extreme difficulty of the lifelong work of fashioning a saint consists precisely in this, that every act of virtue the saint performs goes to strengthen his character, that is, his will. He spent several years having to drink from tubes because his head was so bent forward. Contact information. He finally agreed to become a priest but to live at home as a member of a group of secular missionaries. [2][3], He was born in Marianella, near Naples, then part of the Kingdom of Naples, on 27 September 1696. The immediate author of what was practically a lifelong persecution of the Saint was the Marquis Tanucci, who entered Naples in 1734. But before he called a witness the opposing counsel said to him in chilling tones: "Your arguments are wasted breath. His works have gone through several thousand editions and have been translated into more than 60 languages. To come to saints, the great Jesuit missionary St. Francis di Geronimo took the little Alphonsus in his arms, blessed him, and prophesied that he would do great work for God; while a Franciscan, St. John Joseph of the Cross, was well known to Alphonsus in later life. 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. In 1871 he was named a doctor of the church by Pope Pius IX. Thank you. There is a somewhat unsatisfactory French translation of Tannoia's work. With Don Carlos, or as he is generally called, Charles III, from his later title as King of Spain, came the lawyer, Bernard Tanucci, who governed Naples as Prime Minister and regent for the next forty-two years. So indeed it proved. It was only after his death, as he had prophesied, that the Neapolitan Government at last recognized the original Rule, and that the Redemptorist Congregation was reunited under one head (1793). He often writes as a Neapolitan to Neapolitans. In 1762 he was appointed Bishop of Sant'Agata dei Goti. A piece of evidence was handed to him which he had read and re-read many times, but always in a sense the exact contrary of that which he now saw it to have. A year of trouble and anxiety followed. 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. MLA citation. [5], A gifted musician and composer, he wrote many popular hymns and taught them to the people in parish missions. 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. Both of them were canonized on the same day as the Holy Doctor, 26 May, 1839. Dissension within the congregation culminated in 1777 when he was deceived into signing what he thought was a royal sanction for his rule. Under the government of the Marquis della Sambuca, who, though a great regalist, was a personal friend of the Saint's, there was promise of better times, and in August, 1779, Alphonsus's hopes were raised by the publication of a royal decree allowing him to appoint superiors in his Congregation and to have a novitiate and house of studies. Although there are many modern . But Alphonsus's director, Father Pagano; Father Fiorillo, a great Dominican preacher; Father Manulio, Provincial of the Jesuits; and Vincent Cutica, Superior of the Vincentians, supported the young priest, and, 9 November, 1732, the "Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer", or as it was called for seventeen years, "of the Most Holy Saviour", was begun in a little hospice belonging to the nuns of Scala. Alphonsus was the oldest of seven children, raised by a devout mother of Spanish descent. Resuming the General Audiences after the summer break the last was held on 27 June in the Vatican the Pope . 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. Indeed, apart from those who become saints by the altogether special grace of martyrdom, it may be doubted if many men and women of phlegmatic temperament have been canonized. Had it happened a few years later, the new Government might have found the Redemptorist Congregation already authorized, and as Tanucci's anti-clerical policy rather showed itself in forbidding new Orders than, with the exception of the Society of Jesus, in suppressing old ones, the Saint might have been free to develop his work in comparative peace. But as he drew up a rule for them, formed from that of the Visitation nuns, he does not seem to have had any clear idea of establishing the new institute of his vision. St. Alphonsus encouraged an intimate, personal relationship with Jesus Christ through frequent visits to the Blessed Sacrament. The Holy Father addressed the faithful taking part in the General audience of Wednesday, 1 August [2012], in Piazza della Libert, the square outside the Papal residence in Castel Gandolfo. 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 all this there was no serious sin, but there was no high sanctity either, and God, Who wished His servant to be a saint and a great saint, was now to make him take the road to Damascus. That legacy is the participation in the redemptive mission of Jesus. To this altered Rule or "Regolamento", as it came to be called, the unsuspecting Saint was induced to put his signature. It is remarkable that only 25 years after the Scapular vision, Blessed Pope Gregory X was buried While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. He was buried at the monastery of the Pagani near Naples. He came from a wealthy family in Naples, Italy, and had every advantage in life from the moment he was born in 1696. Neapolitan students, in an animated but amicable discussion, seem to foreign eyes to be taking part in a violent quarrel. Perhaps in any case the submission of their Rule to a suspicious and even hostile civil power was a mistake. There are many editions of the Saint's Moral Theology; the best and latest is that of P. GAUDI, C.SS.R. By 1777, the Saint, in addition to four houses in Naples and one in Sicily, had four others at Scifelli, Frosinone, St. Angelo a Cupolo, and Beneventum, in the States of the Church. [4] Myopia and chronic asthma precluded a military career so his father had him educated in the legal profession. "Alphonsus was of middle height", says his first biographer, Tannoia; "his head was rather large, his hair black, and beard well-grown." A fearful commotion arose. St. Alphonsus Liguori was an Italian Catholic bishop, spiritual writer, composer, musician, artist, poet, lawyer, scholastic philosopher, and theologian. 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. "The life of St. Alphonsus Maria de Liguori" (1855)John Murphy & Co., Baltimore, 1855, "Saint Alphonsus Maria de Liguori", St. Alphonsus Liguori Parish, Peterborough, Ontario, The life of St. Alphonsus Maria de Liguori, Bishop of St. Agatha of the Goths and founder of the Congregation of the Holy Redeemer, Tannoja, Antonio (d. 1808), John Murphy & Co. (1855), "CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA: St. Alphonsus Liguori", "Alphonsus Maria de Liguori", Saint Alphonsus Mary de Liguori Parish, Makati City Philippines, "1st English Translation of St. Alphonsus Liguori's Moral Theology", https://www.avemarialynnfield.org/sites/g/files/zjfyce466/files/2021-01/Stations-of-the-Cross-St-Liguori.pdf, Liguori, Alphonsus. 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). 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. Today I would like to present to you the figure of a holy Doctor of the Church to whom we are deeply indebted because he was an outstanding moral theologian and a teacher of spiritual . Two days after he was born, he was baptized at the Church of Our Lady the Virgin as Alphonsus Mary Anthony John Cosmas Damian Michael Gaspard de' Liguori. Tannoia, also, through some mental idiosyncrasy, manages to give the misleading impression that St. Alphonsus was severe. The saints are not inhuman but real men of flesh and blood, however much some hagiographers may ignore the fact. A justly celebrated life is the Vie et Institut de Saint Alphonse-Marie de Liguori, in four volumes, by CARDINAL VILLECOURT, (Tournai, 1893). It is not necessary to notice certain non-Catholic attacks on Alphonsus as a patron of lying. He had a pleasant smile, and his conversation was very agreeable, yet he had great dignity of manner. Alphonsus said nothing in his "Moral Theology" which is not the common teaching of Catholic theologians. As it was traditionally associated with the zampogna, or large-format Italian bagpipe, it became known as Canzone d'i zampognari, the "Carol of the Bagpipers". 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. Besides his Moral Theology, the Saint wrote a large number of dogmatic and ascetical works nearly all in the vernacular. It's a little awkward to ask, but we need your help. 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. [9], In 1729, Liguori left his family home and took up residence at the Chinese Institute in Naples. He thought his mistake would be ascribed not to oversight but to deliberate deceit. The latest life, BERTHE, Saint Alphonse de Liguori (Paris, 1900, 2 vols.