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VEYO Patron Saints
St. Alphonsus Maria Liguori
Born: 1696
Died: 1787
Canonized: 1839
Feast Day: August 1st
Patron Saint of: theologians and vocations
Alphonsus was born to nobility and, being extremely well-educated at a young age, received his doctorate in law from the University of Naples at age 16. He had his own practice by age 21 and was soon one of the leading lawyers in Naples. He never attended court without having attended Mass first. As he matured and learned more and more of the world, he liked it less and less and finally felt a call to the religious life. He declined an arranged marriage, studied theology and was ordained at age 29.
Preacher and home missioner around Naples, he was noted for his simple, clear, direct style of preaching, and his gentle, understanding way in the confessional. He became a master theologian, especially in the realm of moral theology, and was often opposed by Church officials for a perceived laxity toward sinners and by government officials who opposed anything religious. Alphonsus founded the Redemptoristines women's order in Scala, Italy in 1730 and the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer (Liguorians or Redemptorists) in 1732.
Appointed bishop of Saint Agata dei Gotti by Pope Clement Xlll in 1762, Alphonsus worked to reform the clergy and revitalize the faithful in a diocese. He vowed early in life never to waste a single moment and in this spirit lived to the age if 90. D ied in 1787 and was declared a Doctor of the Church by Pope Pius lX in 1871.
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