Saint Alphonsus Liguori

Bishop, Doctor of the Church, and Founder of the Redemptorists (1696-1787)

His life

+ Alphonsus was born in Naples, Italy, 1696. After working as a lawyer for some years, he gave up his career and was ordained a priest in 1726.

+ Together with Bishop Thomas Falcoia, Alphonsus established a new congregation of missionaries to work among the poor. Despite opposition from local clergy and dissension among the first members, the Rule of Life for the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer (the Redemporists) was approved in 1749.

+ Alphonsus wrote numerous theological and devotional works. Also honored a gifted preacher, Alphonsus was named bishop of Sant’Agata dei Goti but resigned after 13 years to resume his work with his Redemptorist confreres.

+ After suffering from debilitating arthritis for several years, Saint Alphonsus Liguori died in 1787. Canonized in 1839, he was declared a Doctor of the Church in 1871.

+ Saint Alphonsus is honored as the patron saint of moral theologians and those suffering from arthritis.

Spiritual Bonus

Two American Redemptorists are honored among the saints: Saint John Neumann, the fourth bishop of Philadelphia, and Blessed Francis X. Seelos, a missionary priest who died while serving as a pastor in New Orleans.

Quote

“He who trusts himself is lost. He who trusts in God can do all things.”—Saint Alphonsus Liguori

To learn more about the Redemptorists, visit: www.redemptoristvocations.com

Prayer 

O God, who constantly raise up in your Church new examples of virtue,
grant that we may follow so closely in the footsteps
of the Bishop Saint Alphonsus in his zeal for souls
as to attain the same rewards that are his in heaven.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

(from The Roman Missal)

Saint profiles prepared by Brother Silas Henderson, S.D.S.