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Brief History...

More than 400 years ago, Saint Philip Neri sought to renew the Church. Inspired by the example of the early Church in the Book of Acts of the Apostles, Philip founded the Oratory, a congregation of priests and lay brothers who come together without the vows, oaths or promises common to religious orders. A community where heart speaks to heart.

After a brief career in his native Florence, Philip Neri left the business world to pursue the spiritual longings of his heart in Rome. For seventeen years he lived a simple life as a layman there, gathering other young men around himself to pray and to help pilgrims and the sick. At 36 he was ordained a priest and was soon renowned as a skillful spiritual director and confessor. In an oratory built at San Girolamo, he continued to work with young men, sponsoring religious lectures and discussions, organizing work to help the suffering, and hosting performances of religious music composed by Palestrina and other composers, which evolved into what is now known as "oratorios". By 1575 he had formed the clergy who helped him in this work into the Congregation of the Oratory, a new form of Catholic religious life, whose members do not take the traditional vows.

The Institute of the Oratory of Saint Philip Neri (CO) was founded in 1575. It was approved by the Holy See in 1612 and confederated and reapproved in 1942.

Rome in Philip's day was in a very demoralized state. First as a layman and then as a priest, he and his companions worked to restore a vigorous spirituality among the people of Rome. He maintained that spiritual perfection was meant as much for lay people as for clergy and religious. He stressed love, gentleness, cheerfulness, and humility, rather than physical austerity. In time he became known as the "Apostle of Rome".

Saint Philip is known more than most saints for his cheerfulness and his sense of humor. Like the "holy fools" of the Orthodox Church, he often resorted to unconventional behavior, such as shaving off half of his beard, in order to make a point. Many were shocked by such behavior. In this icon he is shown with a small dog he filched from one of the Cardinals in Rome. Arrogant young aristocrats who came to him for guidance often found themselves walking this little dog, thus learning a bit of humility and sense of proportion. He told jokes and appreciated laughter.

A Place of Prayer

Prayer life in the Oratory is relatively simple, but it is indeed a way of life. The Oratory gathers individuals together to share the commitment of learning how to pray and remaining faithful to prayer. The invitation to join the community in prayer is open to everyone.

A Sharing Ministry

Oratorians believe that out of prayer we each realize our special gifts and then share them with others. The works and ministry of the community depend on the specific talents of its members. The ministry includes parish work, retreats, writing, teaching, counseling, campus ministry, prayer groups, and work within civic agencies and organizations. Each ministry in some way addresses social justice either in its nature or its effects, a long tradition of The Oratory. Religious education and spiritual renewal also form a vital component of The Oratory. The house is open to retreatants and its members go out to preach and direct retreats.

A Unique Community

Founded by Saint Philip Neri to speak to the heart, members of The Oratory are bound not by vows but by bonds of love. The community remains deliberately small to encourage interpersonal relationships. Governed democratically, the entire community shares in making major decisions with all members having equal rights and responsibilities.

Pius Parsch reflects on Saint Philip Neri

This gracious, cheerful saint was Rome's apostle of the sixteenth century (1515-1595). A peculiar charism was his burning love of God, a love that imperceptibly communicated itself to all about him. So ardently did this fire of divine love affect him during the octave of Pentecost in his twenty-ninth year that the beating of his heart broke two ribs. It was a wound that never healed.

For fifty years the saint lived on in the intensity of that love which was more at home in heaven than on earth. Through those fifty years his was an apostolate to renew the religious and ecclesiastical spirit of the Eternal City, a task he brought to a happy conclusion. It is to his credit that the practice of frequent holy Communion, long neglected in Rome and throughout the Catholic world, was again revived. He became one of Rome's patron saints, even one of the most popular.

Philip Neri loved the young, and they responded by crowding about him. As a confessor he was in great demand; among his penitents was St. Ignatius. To perpetuate his life's work, St. Philip founded the Congregation of the Oratory, a society of secular clergy without religious vows. The purpose of his foundation was to enkindle piety among the faithful by means of social gatherings which afforded not only entertainment but religious instruction as well. Joy and gaiety were so much a part of his normal disposition that Goethe, who esteemed him highly, called him the "humorous saint." It was his gay, blithe spirit that opened for him the hearts of children. "Philip Neri, learned and wise, by sharing the pranks of children himself became a child again" (epitaph).

As a youth Philip Neri often visited the seven principal churches of Rome. He spent entire nights at the catacombs, near the tombs of the martyrs, meditating on heavenly things. The liturgy was the wellspring of his apostolic spirit; it should likewise motivate us to Catholic Action.

— The Church's Year of Grace, Pius Parsch

Patron: Rome; United States Army Special Forces.

Symbols: Rosary; lily; angel holding a book.

Things to Do:

•  St. Philip Neri was well known for his sense of humor. To honor him today try to laugh at yourself when something annoying happens, try to make someone else happy by your cheerful disposition.

•  St. Philip's favorite feast was Corpus Christi. Spend an hour with Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament.

The Collect from the Roman Missal:

Father, you continually raise up your faithful to the glory of holiness. In your love kindle in us the fire of the Holy Spirit who so filled the heart of Philip Neri. We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever.

 

Venerable John Henry Cardinal Newman Venerable John Henry Newman was born in London, 21 February 1801, and died Birmingham, 11 August 1890. As Vicar of St. Mary's Oxford he exerted a profound spiritual influence on the Church of England. Joining the Catholic Church in 1845, he founded Oratories of St. Philip Neri in Birmingham and London, was the first rector of the Catholic University in Dublin, and was made Cardinal by Pope Leo XIII in 1879. Through his published writings and private correspondence he created a greater understanding of the Catholic Church and its teachings, helping many persons with their religious difficulties. At his death he was praised for his unworldliness, humility, and prayerful contact with the invisible world. He was declared Venerable on 22 January 1991. The Pillar and the Cloud Lead, Kindly Light, amid the encircling gloom Lead Thou me on! The night is dark, and I am far from home -- Lead Thou me on! Keep Thou my feet; I do not ask to see The distant scene -- one step enough for me. I was not ever thus, no pray'd that Thou Shouldst lead me on. I loved to choose and see my path, but now Lead Thou me on! I loved the garish day, and, spite of fears, Pride ruled my will: remember not past years. So long Thy pwer hath blest me, sure it still Will lead me on, O'er moor and fen, o'er crag and torrent, till The night is gone; And with the morn those angel faces smile Which I have loved long since, and lost awhile. -- John Henry Cardinal Newman   Prayer for Canonization Venerable John Henry Newman God our Father, Your servant John Henry Newman upheld the Faith by his teaching and example. May his loyalty to Christ and the Church, his love for the Immaculate Mother of God, and his compassion for the perplexed give guidance to the Christian people today. We beg You to grant the favors we ask through his intercession, so that his holiness may be recognized by all and the Church may proclaim him a saint. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.