St Philip Neri: Apostle of Rome, Saint of Joy, Prayer

St Philip Neri was a Florentine priest of the sixteenth century who spent sixty years in Rome hearing confessions, drawing young men to God, and founding the Congregation of the Oratory, so that the city called him its second apostle. He is the saint of Christian joy, a man of deep prayer and great penance who hid both under a cheerful and playful humility, and on whose heart the Holy Ghost descended, the Breviary says, with such fire that his ribs gave way. His feast falls on 26 May; here is his life, his Oratory, his patronage, the collect of his Mass and a classic prayer to St Philip.

Who was St Philip Neri?

Philip Neri was born at Florence in July 1515, "of godly and respectable parents," as the Roman Breviary puts it. His father, Francesco Neri, was a notary of small means, and the boy received his first religious impressions from the Dominican friars of San Marco. Gentle and cheerful from childhood, he was known in the family as "good Pippo."

As a young man he was sent to a kinsman at San Germano, near Monte Cassino, who meant to make him his heir. Philip gave up the inheritance and in 1533 went to Rome, with nothing, to give himself to God. There he lived for some seventeen years as a layman, tutoring the two sons of a Florentine, Galeotto Caccia, in exchange for a small room and his food, and studying philosophy and theology. The Breviary describes those years: he fasted so strictly that he often went three days without food; he made frequent pilgrimages to the Seven Churches of Rome; and he spent whole nights in prayer in the catacomb of Callistus.

The fire of the Holy Ghost

In 1544, in the days before Pentecost, as he prayed in the catacombs, Philip received the grace that marked the rest of his life. A globe of fire seemed to enter his mouth and lodge in his breast. The Breviary of 1962 records the effect simply: "His heart was wounded by the love of God, burning with such ardour that it could only be contained within his breast because the Lord miraculously enlarged the breast by breaking two of his ribs, and forming an arch over the heart."

The Mass of his feast is built on this grace. Its Introit is the verse of St Paul, "the charity of God is poured forth in our hearts, by the Holy Ghost who is given to us" (Romans v. 5); its Alleluia sings "From above he hath sent fire into my bones" (Lamentations i. 13) and "My heart grew hot within me: and in my meditation a fire shall flame out" (Psalm xxxviii. 4); and its Secret asks that the Holy Ghost may inflame us "with that fire with which He wonderfully penetrated the heart of blessed Philip." Those who wish to pray for the same gifts may use the prayers in our page on the seven gifts of the Holy Ghost.

The Apostle of Rome

In 1548, with his confessor Persiano Rosa, Philip founded the Confraternity of the Most Holy Trinity to care for the poor pilgrims who flocked to Rome and for the sick leaving the hospitals. With that confraternity he spread in Rome the devotion of the Forty Hours, the exposition of the Blessed Sacrament for continuous adoration, which is described in our article on Eucharistic adoration and Benediction.

He did not want to be a priest. In 1551, in obedience to his confessor, he was ordained, and went to live at the church of San Girolamo della Carità. From then on, the Breviary says, "he made the salvation of souls the one object of his existence; he heard confessions with unwearied tenderness until his dying day, and became the spiritual father in Christ of many sons." He sat in his confessional from daybreak until nearly midday, and the best of Rome came to kneel there. Our guide to how to go to Confession is a plain introduction to the sacrament he served for forty-four years.

He was a friend of the Catholic saints of his day, among them St Ignatius of Loyola. His method was not severity but cheerfulness, patience and frequent Communion.

The Oratory of St Philip Neri

The Oratory grew out of the afternoon talks Philip held with the young men who gathered in his room. When the room became too small, a hall was built over the church of San Girolamo, and from about 1558 the meetings took regular shape: reading of a spiritual book with Philip's comments, a sermon or two by laymen and priests, the lives of the saints, prayer, and hymns sung in the vernacular. The musical oratorio takes its name from these gatherings.

The priests formed by Philip lived together without vows, bound only by charity. In 1575 Pope Gregory XIII approved them as the Congregation of the Oratory and gave them the church of Santa Maria in Vallicella, which they rebuilt and which Rome still calls the Chiesa Nuova, the "New Church." Philip himself moved there in 1583, at the Pope's wish. Among his first disciples was Caesar Baronius, later cardinal and author of the Ecclesiastical Annals, written at Philip's direction. The Oratorians of St Philip Neri remain to this day secular priests living in community, each house independent, following the spirit of their founder.

Joy, humility, and "I prefer Paradise"

St Philip is the saint of joy because his holiness wore the face of good humour. He made himself look foolish rather than be admired, and tested his disciples with humbling tasks to break their pride. Behind the humour was a single aim, which the Breviary states plainly: "He longed to be lowly, and always shrank from honours and from dignities in the Church, whereof several of the highest were diverse times offered to him, but he always firmly refused them." In 1590 Cardinal Sfondrato, soon to be Pope Gregory XIV, wished to make him a cardinal; Philip would not have it, and tradition remembers his answer to such offers in one word: he preferred Paradise. Those who wish to ask for the same grace may pray the Litany of Humility.

He was also, the Breviary adds, a man of extraordinary gifts: rapt in ecstasy at Mass, endowed with prophecy and with a "very wonderful power of reading the thoughts of men's souls," and devoted all his life to the Blessed Virgin, whom he saw several times.

How did St Philip Neri die?

In 1595 the feast of Corpus Christi fell on 25 May. "Philip, on that day, said Mass with extraordinary gladness of spirit," the Breviary relates, heard confessions and received visitors as usual, and "after the hour of midnight, at the time he had himself foretold, he fell asleep in the Lord," in his eightieth year. It was the early morning of 26 May, the day of his feast ever since. He was beatified by Paul V in 1615 and canonized by Gregory XV in 1622, in the same ceremony as St Ignatius of Loyola, St Francis Xavier, St Teresa of Avila and St Isidore the Farmer.

Where is St Philip Neri buried?

His body rests in his own church, Santa Maria in Vallicella (the Chiesa Nuova) in Rome, in a chapel dedicated to him.

What is St Philip Neri the patron saint of?

St Philip Neri is honoured as:

• the Apostle of Rome, the title the Church and the city have given him;
• the founder and patron of the Oratory and of all Oratorians;
• the saint of Christian joy, invoked by those who want to serve God with a glad heart.

St Philip is patron of joy not because he made light of religion, but because, in the words of the Apostle, he would "rejoice in the Lord always" (Philippians iv. 4): his gladness came from a heart wholly given to God and free of itself.

The feast of St Philip Neri: 26 May

In the traditional Roman calendar the feast of St Philip Neri is kept on 26 May, a feast of the third class in the Missal of 1962, with the Mass Caritas Dei. The Epistle is from the Book of Wisdom, "I called upon God, and the spirit of wisdom came upon me" (Wisdom vii. 7); the Gradual is his own motto as a teacher, "Come, children, hearken to me: I will teach you the fear of the Lord" (Psalm xxxiii. 12); and the Gospel is "Let your loins be girt and lamps burning in your hands" (Luke xii. 35). The day appears in our traditional liturgical calendar.

St Philip Neri prayer

The collect of his feast

Collect of the feast, 26 May

Deus, qui beátum Philíppum Confessórem tuum Sanctórum tuórum glória sublimásti: concéde propítius; ut, cujus sollemnitáte lætámur, ejus virtútum proficiámus exémplo. Per Dóminum nostrum Jesum Christum, Fílium tuum: qui tecum vivit et regnat in unitáte Spíritus Sancti Deus, per ómnia sǽcula sæculórum. Amen.

O God, who hast raised blessed Philip, Thy Confessor, to the glory of Thy Saints: mercifully grant that we, who rejoice in his feast, may profit by the example of his virtues. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, Thy Son, who liveth and reigneth with Thee in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end. Amen.

V. Pray for us, O holy Father Philip.

R. That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.

A prayer to St Philip Neri

This prayer was written by John Henry Newman, priest of the Oratory he founded in England (Newman was made a cardinal in 1879 and canonized in 2019), as part of an unfinished novena to St Philip:

O my dear and holy Patron, Philip, I put myself into thy hands, and for the love of Jesus, for that love's sake which chose thee and made thee a saint, I implore thee to pray for me, that, as He has brought thee to heaven, so in due time He may take me to heaven too.

Thou hast had experience of the trials and troubles of this life; thou knowest well what it is to bear the assaults of the devil, the mockery of the world, and the temptations of flesh and blood. Thou knowest how weak is human nature, and how treacherous the human heart, and thou art so full of sympathy and compassion, that, amidst all thy present ineffable glory and blessedness, thou canst, I know, give a thought to me.

Think of me then, my dear St. Philip, be sure to think of me, even though I am at times so unmindful of thee. Gain for me all things necessary for my perseverance in the grace of God, and my eternal salvation. Gain for me, by thy powerful intercession, the strength to fight a good fight, to witness boldly for God and religion in the midst of sinners, to be brave when Satan would frighten or force me to what is wrong, to overcome myself, to do my whole duty, and thus to be acquitted in the judgment.

Vessel of the Holy Ghost, Apostle of Rome, Saint of primitive times, pray for me.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who was St Philip Neri?

A priest of Florentine birth (1515-1595) who lived and worked in Rome for sixty years, heard confessions daily for more than four decades, and founded the Congregation of the Oratory. He is called the Apostle of Rome and the saint of joy.

What is St Philip Neri known for?

For the Oratory and its spiritual gatherings, for his ministry in the confessional, for spreading the Forty Hours' adoration and the pilgrimage of the Seven Churches in Rome, for the fire of divine love that enlarged his heart, and for a humility that hid itself under good humour.

Why is St Philip Neri the patron saint of joy?

Because his holiness was cheerful. He served God with gladness, and used humour to keep himself and his penitents humble. His joy was the fruit of a heart given wholly to God.

What is the Oratory of St Philip Neri?

A congregation of secular priests living in community without vows, approved by Gregory XIII in 1575, which grew out of the meetings for prayer, reading and sacred song that Philip held in Rome. Each house of the Oratory is independent; the mother house is at Santa Maria in Vallicella.

Why did St Philip Neri refuse to become a cardinal?

Out of humility. The Breviary says he "always shrank from honours, and from dignities in the Church," refusing several of the highest when they were offered. Tradition sums up his answer in his preference for Paradise over a cardinal's hat.

How did St Philip Neri die?

Peacefully, in the night after the feast of Corpus Christi, 25 May 1595. He had said Mass with great joy and gone about his work as usual, and died after midnight at the hour he had foretold, in his eightieth year.

When was St Philip Neri canonized?

By Pope Gregory XV in 1622, after his beatification by Paul V in 1615.

When is St Philip Neri's feast day?

On 26 May, a feast of the third class in the 1962 calendar.

The Iter Fidei app carries the 1962 Missal and Breviary, with the Mass and Office of St Philip Neri on 26 May and the prayers to the saints. Join early access here.

Sources. Roman Breviary, 26 May, lessons of St Philip Neri, Confessor. Roman Missal (1962), Proper of Saints, 26 May. Holy Bible, Douay-Rheims version: Romans v. 5; Lamentations i. 13; Psalms xxxiii. 12, xxxviii. 4; Wisdom vii. 7; Luke xii. 35; Philippians iv. 4. John Henry Newman, Meditations and Devotions, "Prayers to St Philip," Prayer I.