Saint Philip Neri: Apostle of Rome and Founder of the Congregation of the Oratory

The Second Apostle of Rome

Saint Philip Neri stands like a giant among the saints, a magnificent and singular character who bore in himself many opposites, many seeming contradictions, in complete harmony. His character was of such immensity that he merited to be named the "Second Apostle of Rome."

Born in 1515 to a wealthy Florentine family, Philip was duly educated. From a young age he was pious, praying the psalms with his sister as a boy, and he was formed intellectually under magnificent...