St Philip Neri.
1515-1595. ~ Philip was born into a respectable family living in Florence in Italy. He received a good all round education from the Dominicans at San Marco. At eighteen, he was sent to San Germano to take up an apprenticeship in a family business. Soon after, he experienced a vision, which caused him to change his mind, and he decided to enter a religious community. He set off to Rome and lived alone for a while, earning his living by teaching. On completion of further studies over the next three years, he qualified in philosophy and theology. He then decided to start preaching. He went onto the streets of Rome to try converting the lapsed and the corrupt. To help him with his work, he formed a lay brotherhood for young men to care for the sick and to also worship. This was the humble beginning of the “Trinity Hospital”.
At the age of thirty-six, he was ordained and moved into a clerical house. News soon spread that he was a confessor and people came from far and wide to consult him. He built an oratory onto the church and used it as a meeting place. This became the headquarters of the “Oratorians”, a society comprised of a small group of priests trained in caring, converting and preaching. The group spread to other countries and Philip became known as the “Apostle of Rome”. He resigned due to ill health, but still he was the most popular man of his time in Rome. He was so dedicated that even though he was retired he worked right up to the day he died. He was canonised in 1622 by Pope Gregory XV.