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A Saint for All Seasons - St. Philip Neri
When I was a student at the Scots College in Rome more than 50 years ago, a number of us participated each year in the‘Seven Churches’ pilgrimage (‘Le SetteChiese’) around the city. On Easter Saturday evening we went with parishioners of the ‘Chiesa Nuova’ parish on Easter Saturday evening to St Peter’s – the Pope came to his window to give us aspecial blessing – and the following day made quite an arduous journey from St Paul’s Outside the Walls to other 5 Basilicas – San Sebastiano, San Lorenzo,Santa Croce, St John Lateran and St Mary Major. We stopped at the Catacombs area to picnic and have an impromptu concert - all part of a tradition started by the founder of that parish, St Philip Neri, known in the 16thcentury as ‘the Apostle of Rome. He is the Saint we celebrate on this Saturday, 27th May. The parishioners of the Chiesa Nuova, who called themselves ‘Philippini’ could tell stories of this happy little saint who encouraged this little pilgrimage and insisted there should be singing and enjoyment during it.
Philip was a Florentine who gave up a promising business career to make a poor living by tutoring, study theology, live a life of prayer, and with companions whom his pleasant personality attracted to him begin an apostolate of caring for poor pilgrims and the sick.He continued this after priestly ordination in 1551, and formed with some priest companions the body of religious called ‘Oratorians’ (from the little oratory where they met) who lived in community and were remarkable for having no vow of poverty and leaving their members a lot of scope for personal apostolate. 300 years later in Britain Blessed Cardinal Newman and the great hymn-writer Fr Faber would be ‘Sons of the Oratory’. Philip built up a personal reputation as a discerning confessor and adviser not only to ordinary folk but to scholars,cardinals and Popes. He was a wise – and often wise-cracking – friend and helper to young men especially. He also had mystical experiences of different sorts – it was said that when he went into an ecstasy during the Mass his server could go off for an hour or so before the saint continued with the liturgy. When he was gifted an oldchurch by the Pope he demolished it and without any resources began to build the prestigious ‘Chiesa Nuova’.
Sadly ‘Health and Safety’ rules have put anend to the ‘Sette Chiese’ in the form we knew it.
Fr McIntyre
