Dates

• Existence: 1515 July 21 - 1595 May 26

Biographical note

A native of Florence, he worked first as an assistant to a merchant at San Germano, at the foot of Montecassino (1534-1541). Then he settled in Rome as tutor in the house of a Florentine nobleman. Meanwhile he devoted all his leisure time to the study of theology and to the service of his neighbor. He thought of going to the foreign missions, but a Benedictine of Saint Paul's told him that his apostolate was in Rome. In 1548, he gathered fourteen companions into a congregation which ultimately received a definite shape as the Congregation of the Oratory. It was not until 1551 that he was ordained a priest. During the thirty-three years that followed, Philip and his Oratory constituted the center of religious life in Rome. In 1583, his institute was officially approved with its mother house at the church of La Valicella, which Philip rebuilt on a magnificent scale. He is sometimes called the "Second Apostle of Rome." Canonized in 1622.

(paraphrased from The Book of Saints : A Dictionary of Persons Canonized or Beatified by the Catholic Church. 5th edition. New York: Crowell, 1966.)

Alternate names

Philip Romolo Neri, Filippo Romolo Neri