St Alphonsus

The Feast of St Alphonsus Liguori (1696-1787) is celebrated on the 1st of August: he was born near Naples to a well off family. He trained as a lawyer and exercised this profession for some years but then opted to become a priest and worked hard on behalf of homeless and marginalized young people in Naples. In 1732 he founded the Redemptorist Congregation with a view to ministering to abandoned people in remote rural areas.

The work of founding a religious congregation was an arduous one for Alphonsus. He faced many difficulties, both internal and external, not just at the beginning but throughout his life. The congregation was granted official recognition by Pope Benedict XV in 1749. Today it is present in over seventy countries throughout the world.

St Alphonsus was a prolific writer. He published 111 works and many of these have been translated into other languages and have had several editions. In this way he became a very widely read author of theology and spirituality.

He wrote many volumes of moral theology which were designed to help people grow in the love of God. He was opposed to the very severe approach which was prevalent at the time in moral matters. He was less concerned with judging people and more concerned with helping them discover the next step they could take to be more faithful to God´s calling. His intention was to encourage people on their journey of faith. The mercy and compassion of God were constant themes in his writings.

Amongst his other better known writings are The Glories of Mary, The Visits to the Blessed Sacrament, The Way of the Cross, and The Practice of the Love of Jesus Christ.

In his spirituality St Alphonsus gave great emphasis to the Crib, the Cross and the Eucharist. The Crib represents the great truth that the Son of God became man. The human and the divine come together in Jesus and so to be human is an extraordinary blessing. He composed a Christmas hymn Tu Scendi Dalle Stelle (You have descended from the Stars) and to this day it is very popular in Italy.

The Cross represents the infinite love of God for his people. On the cross Jesus accepted the ultimate consequences of his love for his people and of his fidelity to the mission entrusted to Him by the Father.

The Eucharist is a unique presence of Jesus in our lives both in the celebration of Mass and in the tabernacle. As mentioned above St Alphonsus wrote a special book of visits to the Blessed Sacrament, one for each day of the month.

It comes as no surprise that prayer was a constant practice throughout his life. He once said – ´he who prays will be saved, he who does not pray will be lost.’

  • He was canonized by Pope Gregory XVI in 1839.
  • In 1871 he was declared a Doctor of the Church by Pope Pius IX.
  • In 1950 Pope Pius XII nominated him patron of moral theologians and confessors.