Background
Philip Neri was born in Florence on July 21, 1515, the son of a lawyer.
Philip Neri was born in Florence on July 21, 1515, the son of a lawyer.
In 1532 or 1533 he went to San Germano (Cassino) to learn business under the tutelage of an uncle, but, repelled by commercial affairs and feeling a pronounced desire for a life of close union with God, he left San Germano after a few months and went to Rome. There he studied philosophy and theology at Sapienza University and Sant'Agostino.
After a mystical experience, which he called his conversion, he abandoned all worldly affairs and in 1533 departed from Florence to lead in Rome a life of prayer, austerity, and apostolic zeal. Ordained to the priesthood in 1556, he continued to devote himself to the spiritual and temporal welfare of the Romans, earning the title of "Apostle of Rome. " The Congregation of the Oratory was formally recognized by Gregory XIII in 1575. St. Philip died in Rome in 1595, and his feast is celebrated on May 26, the day of his death.
He grew up a pious lad, his cheerfulness and amiability endearing him to contemporaries and posterity.
Key to his success was that he used humour as his medicine. He may have made others laugh, from going around Rome with half his beard shaved off, doing humorous dances or setting penances for young men that involved them making fools of themselves in public.