Saint Philip Neri

He spent two years there in the most absolute isolation from creatures. He took only one meal a day, and this meal consisted of eating dry bread and drinking water. However, he sometimes added herbs or a few olives to it; but, in return, it happened quite often that he would go two or three days without taking any food. He did not want to have any furniture in his narrow cell other than a bed, and even that served him only as a seat, for it was on the ground that he took his rest. His clothes and linen were placed on a rope, and his books on a shelf. He gave to sleep only the time strictly necessary, and his alarm clock was the powerful attraction he felt for prayer. This life, so edifying in a very young man, could not long remain hidden. It was spoken of throughout the city, and the rumor spread as far as Florence. His sister Elisabeth, to whom it was reported, replied: "This does not surprise me. From his earliest years, I could conjecture, seeing his virtues, that he would become a great Saint in the future."

He had been leading this life hidden from the eyes of men for two years when he felt divinely drawn to the study of philosophy. Consequently, he followed at the Roman College the successive courses of the most skillful masters who were then in Rome. After finishing his philosophy, he began his theological studies at the Augustinian college, and the progress he made in this science was so remarkable that he no longer needed to occupy himself with it thereafter. He therefore lived on the foundation he had acquired then, his duties of state preventing him from adding anything to it, and yet he was always regarded as one of the most learned theologians of Rome. Even in his final years, he discussed the highest and most subtle questions with as much ease and erudition as those who devote their lives to study. He had not even forgotten the least important controversies, and one was astonished to hear him report with accuracy the sentiments of the learned on these kinds of questions, and the reasonings with which they supported them.

Was he then parading his science? No, certainly not, for he was admirable in humility; he artfully avoided all conversations where he might have let some science appear, and to hear his short, embarrassed, and disjointed sentences, one would have thought he did not know how to speak, he who developed his thoughts so well, and with such abundance, when it was necessary. Many people, dupes of this artifice, which they were far from suspecting, regarded him as an ignorant man; but if it happened that they had some serious business to deal with him, they changed their opinion about him very quickly. The Summa of Saint Thomas was always near him, and he consulted it as needed. This great Saint, to say it in passing, was, in his opinion, the theologian par excellence, and in controversies he willingly sided with his sentiment. With the Summa, he also possessed the Bible. These were the only two works he had kept, when at the end of his studies he had sold all his books to distribute the price to the poor.

Being endowed with a mind as flexible as it was profound, as graceful as it was solid, he had applied himself to poetry in his young years, and had written many Latin and Italian verses; but, in his old age, he burned them, as well as all his other writings, out of aversion for human praise.

His virtue made him even more commendable than his science. At college, he always took care to avoid what could wound modesty and purity, those two lovely virtues that are the ornament of youth; thus, the flower of his virginity was not withered by the wind of passions. He preserved until his death an angelic purity, which shone even on his face, and illuminated it with a celestial splendor. And yet his fellow students stirred up new temptations for him every day on this matter; they sometimes even employed the most shameful, but also the most seductive means, such as secretly sending prostitutes into his room: but they could never corrupt him; he emerged victorious from all the battles, through prayer, tears, and trust in God. It is reported in particular that one day he resisted with such constancy the passion of one of these wretches, who had brought him there under the pretext that she was sick, that, in her confusion and the transports of her anger, she threw a footstool at his head. As a reward for such a glorious victory, he received from heaven this extraordinary grace, that, for the thirty years he lived thereafter, he never felt any movement of the flesh, not even during sleep.

From the studies of the school, he passed to those of the cabinet, where he acquired a profound knowledge of the Holy Scriptures, the ancient Fathers, and the canons of the Church; so that, as he had a naturally very fair and very solid mind, with a marvelous talent for expressing himself clearly and arguing with method, one can say that the cause of the truths of religion had not been in better hands for a long time. But while he adorned his mind with all the knowledge that concerns religion, he mortified his flesh, and did not forget to reduce, like the Apostle,

His prayer was almost continuous, and, to give himself entirely to it, he abandoned his studies, and "took all the time to sigh at his ease after God, who was all the joy of his soul." It was in this holy exercise that he felt most keenly the violence of the fire produced in him by divine love, of which extraordinary things have been published. "He found himself one day so inflamed with the ardors of love, that these sacred flames spreading impetuously over his body, they dilated, and even, according to some, broke his fourth and fifth ribs, to give more space to these seraphic movements."

He hardly made any diversion from these pious conversations of his soul with God except by visiting hospitals to serve the sick, assist and instruct the poor. He thus re-established, by his example, this holy custom, which most of the servants of God have practiced, of going to bring consolation to all pains, and relief to all miseries in houses of charity, a custom which, before this devotion of Saint Philip, was extremely neglected. Few days passed, also, that he did not satisfy the particular devotion he had of visiting the seven churches of Rome. After having poured out his heart there, during the day, at the foot of the altars, he would retire, at night, to the cemetery of Callixtus, where he continued the exercises of his piety on the tombs of the martyrs. There was then such a sweet unction in his conversations with Jesus Christ; this divine Savior spoke so closely to his soul, and flooded it with such abundant consolations, that our Saint was often obliged to pray Him to diminish the outbursts to which his heart could no longer suffice, and to cry out to Him with tears: It is enough, Lord, it is enough!

His example later attracted many companions to him, who wished to join him to regularly make the same stations. This devotion, which was practiced with much order and modesty, edified the whole city, and it was one of the means that Saint Philip used with the most success to withdraw many young people from their disordered habits, and to lead them subsequently to true piety: for it must be noted that this violent love he had for God produced, among other effects, in his heart, an ardent desire to see all sinners return to Him through a true conversion, and to reunite with the righteous to render Him a worship of justice and truth in the union of a perfect love.

With the intention of winning souls for Jesus Christ, he renounced the rest of his dear solitude and appeared more often in public; this gave an infinite number of people the opportunity to verify for themselves the wonderful things that fame had spread about him throughout the city. There was not a day that one would not find him in some place of assembly, at the exchange, in colleges, in the squares, and even in the markets, to exhort everyone there to virtue.

Philip especially loved young people. He wished to put them on guard against the seductions of their age, to preserve all the freshness of their virtue, and to persuade them of the truth of these words of the prophet: "Blessed is the man who bears the yoke of the Lord from his youth." He would wait for them as they left school, mingle with their ranks, and converse with them; he would approach them in public squares, he would seek them out even in shops and counting-houses. "Oh! my brothers," he would say to them, "when shall we begin to do good?" There was so much attraction in his voice and in his manners that many, yielding to the irresistible influence that Philip exerted over them, renounced the frivolities of the world and consecrated themselves entirely to the Lord. God blessed such active charity in such a way that a considerable change was seen in all the places he frequented. One no longer saw quarrels there; one no longer heard blasphemies, obscene or insulting words, or lies. Many, not content with leaving sin and vicious habits, renounced the world entirely; many also became excellent workers to labor with him for the conversion of souls: and it is thus that this man, admirable for his gentleness, persuasion, and the fire of charity, began this holy social renovation by which he regenerated the peoples of Italy; a sublime work of humility, patience, and devotion, which he accomplished before his death and which his congregation has so gloriously continued since.

It was then that, finding himself assisted by Persiano Rosa, a priest of the community of Saint Jerome and his confessor, he began the Confraternity of the Most Holy Trinity, in the church of San Salvatore del Campo, for the relief of the poor from outside, of pilgrims, and of convalescents leaving hospitals who had no asylum (1548). One admired the beautiful order he established there, as much for the exercises of prayer and instruction as for the exercises of charity to which one committed oneself. He was the soul of this new body; he was present at all the functions of the members with surprising activity. As he embraced the whole universe in his immense charity, his ingenious zeal made him find a thousand resources. One saw this well in the year 1550, which was that of the great jubilee, since he found a way to lodge a crowd of pilgrims in houses that he went to ask for from his friends and even from other people in the city. He washed their feet, seeing in them the person of Jesus Christ, and assisted them in all their needs. He even supported several families whom misfortune had reduced to the deepest misery; he gave dowries to poor girls to marry them according to their station.

But he had a very particular solicitude for children. He often went through the streets of Rome to instruct them, made them approach him as Jesus Christ once did in the countryside of Judea, took them in his arms, covered them with kisses and caresses, and said to them upon leaving, with a paternal smile: "Amuse yourselves well, but do not offend the good God." As for those who were poor, he looked upon them as his favorite children, supported them in trades and even in their studies with alms that he went to ask for himself from the rich, and watched over them like a tender mother until they were of an age to have a position in the world. He also brought aid to people and to religious houses that were in need; it seemed that his heart was an inexhaustible source from which the Lord caused all the works of mercy to flow into His Church. Thus, Saint Philip was already called the father of souls and bodies. Our Lord honored all his virtues with a multitude of miracles. One night, as he was bringing some assistance to a poor family, he fell into a pit and was pulled out by his good angel. Another time, this blessed spirit asked him for alms in the guise of a poor man, and took pleasure in seeing him empty his purse to relieve his apparent misery.

Despite these good works, this profound knowledge, and this marvelous virtue of which Saint Philip left brilliant proofs wherever he went, he was still only a simple layman. He had too high an idea of the priesthood for his humility to allow him to aspire to it; in which he must serve as a great example to the rash who, far from trembling at the mere thought of this formidable burden, covet it as a means of attaining comfortable ease and some consideration in the world.

When he was thirty-six years old, his confessor ordered him, in the name of God, to enter holy orders. He had to obey, and in such a prompt manner that, in our day, this promptness would pass for precipitation; but the interstices did not exist before the Council of Trent. He was made to receive the tonsure, the minor orders, and the subdiaconate in the month of March of the year 1551, the diaconate on Holy Saturday, that is to say, the 29th of the same month, and the priesthood on the twenty-third day of May of the same year. As much as he had had a repugnance to receiving the priestly character, so much did he put zeal and eagerness into exercising all its functions. He did not pass a single day without saying Mass, unless he was ill, and even then he did not renounce the happiness of receiving Communion. With what holy joy, with what transports of love he approached this august Sacrament! When he celebrated, his devotion was so tender, so vivid, that by simply touching the chalice where he was to consecrate, he was flooded with celestial consolations that overflowed onto his body and made it shine with a mysterious light. At the elevation especially, his spirit entered into such raptures that he could almost not lower his arms and felt as if lifted from the ground by an invisible force.

Shortly after his ordination, he entered, on the advice of his confessor, the community of free priests of Saint Jerome, which was called of Charity, and he was employed there to hear the confessions of penitents. It seemed that his charity lacked only this means of drawing souls to God, which he did by inspiring in them a horror of sin and a love of virtue.

At that time, the fervent devotion of the ages of faith had given way, among most of the faithful, to a deplorable lukewarmness. Many Christians were content to confess once each year and to receive Communion at the Easter feasts. Philip saw in this lukewarmness the cause of the loss of a great number of souls. He displayed a pious activity to decide the faithful to frequent the Sacraments and the exercises of piety, and above all confession. His room was open to all the persons who wished to place themselves under his guidance; one entered it at night as well as by day, even when he was at prayer; he received them all with kindness and taught them by familiar conversations the science of salvation and the maxims of the Gospel. It is thus that he assembled disciples and formed good workers for the vineyard of the Lord, among whom one must especially note: Henri Pietra, who later gave great development to the congregation of the Clerics of Christian Doctrine; Jean Mauzoli, who courageously renounced great riches to acquire eternal goods; Theseus Raspa, who died holily in the Congregation of the Oratory; François-Marie Tarugi, Jean-Baptiste Modi, and Antoine Fucius.

It would be difficult to count all those to whom Philip, while still a layman, made embrace the evangelical counsels. The monasteries of the various Orders were incessantly populated with the new recruits he sent them. This is why Saint Ignatius, founder of the Society of Jesus, pleasantly called Philip the Bell, and here is how he explained his thought: "J ust as," he saint Ignace Founder of the Society of Jesus and friend of Philip. said, "a parish bell calls everyone to church and remains in its tower, so this apostolic man makes others enter into religion, and remains in the world." This great Saint pressed him several times to enter his company, but in vain. It was not for lack of veneration for the holy founder, and of esteem for his Order, but his vocation was to make religious and not to become one. When he had once convinced his illustrious friend of this, the latter ceased his insistence.

Seeing the eagerness the people had to come and hear the word of God, especially towards the end of the day, he instituted a public prayer which they could attend before returning home. To this end, he had an oratory built in the very place of the instructions. God looked upon this pious establishment with such complacency, and granted it such blessings, that nothing was spoken of more in Rome than going, towards sunset, to the Oratory of Philip Neri.

Another means, imagined by Saint Philip, to make piety attractive and to show that it also has its relaxations and its sweetnesses, was the use of music in the exercises of the Oratory.

The greatest composer of the 16th century, he whose genius raised religious music to its highest degree of perfection, Palestrina, became a disciple of Saint Philip and helped him powerfully to provide the brothers of the Oratory with the pious pleasure of spiritual canticles. Palestrina set to music several canticles and several hymns, sung by the associates of the Oratory. The archives of the Oratorian Fathers of Santa Maria in Vallicella preciously preserve various unpublished motets of this illustrious composer. Thanks to Saint Philip, whom he loved as a father, Palestrina, while acquiring immortal glory, made great progress in piety. He died holily, supported, at his final hour, by the one who had taught him to sanctify his genius. Struck by a pleurisy that was to defy the resources of science, he had Saint Philip called, who hurried with his ordinary charity, listened to his last confession, and prepared him to receive the holy Viaticum. On February 2, 1594, the day of the feast of the Purification of the Blessed Virgin, in whose honor he had published several hymns in music shortly before, he was exhorted by Saint Philip to desire to go and enjoy in heaven the feast celebrated to the glory of the Mother of God. Gathering his exhausted strength, Palestrina replied: "Yes, I ardently desire to go to heaven, and I pray Mary, my advocate, to obtain for me from her divine Son such great happiness." As soon as he had spoken these words, he expired.

Several ecclesiastics, animated by a holy emulation by the example of his disciples, asked thereafter to increase their number and to be employed under him in instructions, conferences, and prayer. The blessed Saint led them with such gentleness that he made of them what he wished. To introduce among them a form of assembly, and to unite them by some spiritual bonds, he prescribed for them regulations and some exercises, which they "received willingly and observed exactly."

The great Baronius, who was one of his disciples and spiritual children, remarks, in the first volume of his "Annals" on the year fifty-two, that "these regulations are perfectly in conformity with those that the apostle Saint Paul gives to the first Christians of Corinth."

These holy priests employed the morning in performing the divine office in the church of the brothers of the Florentine nation, who had themselves offered it to Saint Philip. In the afternoon, they came to that of Saint Jerome, where, every day, except Saturday, there were four who were destined to give short sermons to the people on Christian doctrine, the reformation of morals, and the examples of the Saints. Saint Philip did not fail to be there to listen to all the others, and at the end of the discourse, he questioned those present by way of a spiritual conference, and always concluded with some reflections that led them to the love of God, to the contempt of the world, and to the practice of virtue. It is by these small beginnings that he gave birth to the famous Congregation of the Oratory, whose first columns were Jean-François Bourdin, later Archbishop of Avignon; Alexandre Fideli; and that incomparable man of whom we have already spoken, we mean the most eminent Cardinal Baronius, who, at the solicitation of Saint Philip, undertook these Ecclesiastical Annals, whose merit is so excellent that all the centuries that will follow will cardinal Baronius Disciple of Philip, historian and cardinal, author of the Annales ecclesiastici. not be too long to praise them worthily. This great cardinal said himself that it was to his holy founder that he was indebted not only for the design, but also for the progress and the happy success of this work, and that he deserved better than he to be called its author.

The congregation of which we speak was confirmed, in the year 1575, by Pope Gregory XIII, who, well informed of the merit of Saint Philip and the great fruits that one could hope for from his company, also gave him the church of Santa Maria in Val pape Grégoire XIII Pope who confirmed the Congregation of the Oratory in 1575. licella, or Saint Gregory, which was falling into ruin. It was rebuilt from top to bottom; and Cardinal Alessandro de' Medici, Archbishop of Florence, who was later ra Sainte-Marie, de Vallicella Principal church of the Oratory in Rome. ised to the sovereign Pontificate under the name of Leo XI, celebrated the first mass there.

This is how this great servant of God instituted this illustrious community.

Let us look at the beautiful examples of virtue he gave to his children; we shall draw them from the process of his canonization. He burned with such great love for God that this divine flame, as we have already said, overflowed even onto his body, particularly during prayer, and one could see sparks of fire appearing to issue from his whole face, and especially from his eyes, which sufficiently marked the furnace by which his heart was consumed; one often heard him begin these words of the Apostle: *Cupio dissolvi et esse cum Christo*, "I desire to be dissolved and to be with Christ"; but his humility not allowing him to speak like Saint Paul, he would stop short and say only this first word, *Cupio*.

This love was especially so ardent and so strong when he said the Holy Mass that, in the tremors it gave him, he made the footstool of the altar shake. He had the gift of tears in an excellent degree, and he shed them in such great abundance when he meditated on the passion of Our Lord or on the ingratitude of sinners that it is a miracle he did not lose his sight from so much weeping; and from this one can judge, on one hand, what a high idea he had formed of the majesty of God, and on the other, the low opinion he had of himself. He was indeed very humble, since he protested, like Saint Francis, that he was the greatest of all sinners, and with this thought he made this prayer to God every day: "Lord, guard yourself from me, because I will betray you today, and I will commit all the sins of the world if you do not preserve me from them by your holy grace."

One day when he was sick to the point of death, his children begged him to ask God for his recovery, and to offer himself to serve Him longer on earth, if he were still necessary to his people, as Saint Martin had done. He answered them: "I am not Saint Martin, I have never approached his merit. If it entered my mind that I were necessary to you, I would consider myself entirely lost."

One should not be surprised, after that, if he always fled ecclesiastical dignities and honors, if one could never make him accept either benefices or pensions, and if he constantly refused, not only bishoprics, but also the cardinalate, which was offered to him by Popes Gregory XIII and Clement VIII. It was even by a formal command, and by virtue of the obedience he owed to the Holy See, that one succeeded in making him acquiesce to his election as superior general of the new congregation he had founded; and he never had any rest until he had had himself discharged from it two years before his death, in order to live at least that short time in obedience, under the guidance of the great Baronius, who succeeded him.

This prodigious humility was accompanied by an unshakable constancy and firmness in the persecutions that were brought against him, and which are ordinarily brought against all the Saints. He was one day accused, before the tribunal of the Vice-Gerent of Rome, of holding dangerous assemblies, of sowing novelties among the people, and of suffering impertinent discourse in the sermons and public conferences of his disciples. This prelate, thus prejudiced against him, had him come to his tribunal and treated him very harshly: he even forbade him the confessional for fifteen days and forbade him to mount the pulpit without his express permission. Philip received this confusion with a joyful face and without justifying himself, and said humbly that he was ready to obey everything that was ordered of him and that he had never had any other design than to procure the glory of God and the salvation of men. Other persons, even of his congregation, having too lightly given credence to false reports that had been made of him, he left them in that thought, not believing that one could have a bad enough idea of his person, and persuading himself that these calumnies were like so many lessons that God was giving him to teach him to humble himself. What is even more admirable is that he always excused, as much as he possibly could, the authors of these calumnies; particularly when he spoke with those who were scandalized by them. Finally, he prayed to God for them and asked Him for pardon for the offense they might have committed therein.

His patience appeared no less in his illnesses. He had great ones every year, and it has been noted that he received Extreme Unction up to four times. But, however great his pains were, one never heard him say a single word of complaint; on the contrary, one always saw joy appear on his face, and sweetness was so spread upon his lips that it was a great satisfaction to be with him. When he recovered, it was more by miracle than by remedies; which should not surprise, since, according to the report of the doctors, what he took as food in the best of health was so meager that it was not naturally capable of sustaining his body. It is therefore believed that he lived so long only by the strength he received from the Holy Eucharist. Finally, to complete the portrait of his virtues, we shall use the terms of Pope Urban VIII, who says that "this great servant of God excelled so much in Christian mortification that he made himself a perfect master in it." Indeed, he carried it to such a point that he sometimes renounced even the lights of his reason, to abandon himself more perfectly to the guidance of Jesus Christ, and that he performed external actions that appeared little judicious, in order to pass for weak and light-headed in the minds of the men of the world.

But, as glory is the reward of humility, he was all the more honored as he sought humiliations and contempt with more eagerness. Saint Charles Borromeo had so much esteem and veneration for him that, every time he met him, he would prostrate himself before him and beg him to allow him to kiss his hands. Saint Ignatius of Loyola thought no less of his holiness: and one often saw these two illustrious found Saint Charles Borromée Saint who executed donations in favor of orphans. ers looking at each other without saying anything, in the admiration they naturally felt for the virtue they recognized in one another.

What shall we say of the close friendship that reigned between him and the Blessed Felix of Cantalice? They never met without greeting each other with affection, but in a very new way: for it was only by testifying to each other the desire they had to see one another endure whips, wheels, racks, and all sorts of other torments for the honor of Jesus Christ, and often they both remaine Félix de Cantalice Capuchin friar and close friend of Philip. d for a long time without speaking, as if seized and transported with joy.

Finally, we cannot omit that the Popes themselves, Paul and Pius IV, Pius and Sixtus V, Gregory XIII, Gregory XIV, and Clement VIII, always respected him as a great Saint. Clement VIII, under whose pontificate he lived, having experienced the divine virtue that resided in the hands of Philip, would kiss them publicly and proposed him as a perfect model of holiness and an accomplished example of all virtues.

But why would men not have respected Saint Philip, since the God of heaven honored him with His greatest graces and most extraordinary favors? He was often caught up in ecstasy, and then he was seen raised from the ground and surrounded by light. One Christmas night, Our Lord appeared to him on the altar in the form of a little child of admirable beauty, who had just been born. Sometimes he perceived in the holy host a multitude of angels and all the glory of paradise. He also saw the Blessed Virgin supporting with her hands the roof of the church of Vallicella, which was threatening to collapse, until it was out of danger, and a year before his death, being dangerously ill, she appeared to him again and miraculously healed him.

He saw several souls of his penitents or friends fly to heaven, and at the same time he heard the angels testifying their joy with canticles of praise. He knew, by a divine light, the beauty of the interior of those who were in a state of grace; the faces of Saint Charles Borromeo and Saint Ignatius often appeared to him all radiant with light.

Not only did God grant him the grace to always preserve his virginity, but also those who had the happiness of seeing him felt internally solicited to the practice of this amiable virtue, whether by the modesty and sweetness of his gaze, or by a pleasant perfume that usually emanated from his body. He discerned chaste persons from others by the good or bad odor they gave off, and the mere imposition of his hands was a powerful remedy for all kinds of temptations against purity.

He also penetrated hearts and had a great discernment of spirits, so that he distinguished false visions from true ones. That is why, although the demon often appeared to him in various guises, he always triumphed over him gloriously, immediately discovering his artifices. With this marvelous gift, God had also granted him the gift of prophecy and that of miracles. He knew absent things as if they had been present. He appeared at the same time in several places and to various people very far away. Indeed, although he was in the house of Saint Jerome, he was very often seen in the church of Saint Mary of Vallicella, known as Saint Gregory.

One of his penitents, who was going from Rome to Naples, having been taken by corsairs, threw himself into the sea to save himself; but, as the waves were too violent and he was about to be submerged, our Saint, whom he invoked, appeared to him, and, pulling him from the water by his hair, transported him to a place of safety. Another time, without leaving Rome, he spoke with a good nun named Catherine, at the convent of Prato, of the Order of Saint Augustine, in Tuscany.

The bull of canonization says that he suddenly healed several sick people, some by the sign of the cross, others by his touch and the imposition of his sacred hands, others by prayers he made to God with extreme fervor, others by merely commanding the illnesses to withdraw, as he did for an oblate nun of Saint Francis, who had a continuous fever; others finally, by applying to them remedies completely contrary to the ailment; which appeared in the person of the great Baronius, his disciple: for, seeing him overwhelmed by such great weakness of stomach and head that he could not retain any food, nor apply himself to prayer or study, he made him eat in his presence a whole loaf of bread and a lemon, and by this means restored him to perfect health. He had already healed him another time of a mortal illness in which he was given up by the doctors; for, as he knew the loss the Church would suffer in losing a man of such great merit, he began to pray to ask God for his healing; and at that very hour, the pious patient fell asleep and saw him in a dream making great entreaties to Our Lord and the Blessed Virgin for his health. When he awoke after this dream, he began to feel better; and, shortly after, at the hour when, according to the doctors, he was to die, he rose in very good health and ready to resume his ordinary exercises of preaching, confession, reading, and composition.

Saint Philip's handkerchiefs and all the things he had used performed similar wonders. A cloth stained with his blood healed on the spot a horrible ulcer, which had resisted all remedies for eighteen months. His power even extended to death, as was seen for Paul Fabricius, of the house of Massimi. Having died without having the consolation of seeing Saint Philip, whom he had urgently requested, he resurrected upon his arrival, when this Saint called him by his name. He confessed to him and died a second time, having preferred to ascend immediately to heaven rather than to live longer on earth, exposed to the occasions of sin and the danger of losing his soul for all eternity.

While Saint Philip was thus filling the whole city of Rome with admiration for his miraculous actions, the hour of his death was approaching. It was not unforeseen for him; for, besides the fact that he prepared for it every day, he had a vision in which he learned the very moment it was to arrive. It was the 25th of May 1595, the day of the Most Holy Sacrament, in the following manner: He offered the holy sacrifice of the Mass very early in the morning with great transports of joy, an abundance of tears, and extraordinary fervor of spirit; he then heard the confessions of some of those present and gave them communion with his own hands according to his custom; finally, as he was finishing these holy exercises, he had a vomiting of blood for which no remedy could be found. This accident forced him to lie on a bed to await his final moment. It is known that he had already received Extreme Unction several times, and a few days earlier, Baronius had brought him the holy Viaticum. Upon which it is reported that, as soon as he saw the Blessed Sacrament enter his room, he cried out, weak as he was, while shedding many tears: "Here is the one who makes all my joy, here is my love and my delights; I esteem nothing so dear or so precious as Him. Give, give me the one I love; give, give Him to me promptly." And after having received Him, he said: "I have received the physician in my home, now I am content."

All the religious who surrounded him shed tears; but they were less tears of sadness than tears of love and joy, because their blessed Father was going to pray for them in heaven.

Father Baronius, who was reciting the prayers for the dying according to the practice of the Church, having asked him to give his blessing once more to his dear children kneeling around him, he opened his eyes, and having raised them toward heaven, he immediately lowered them upon them with a look full of tenderness, showing by this sign that he had obtained from God the blessing they requested; and this was his supreme farewell. He peacefully rendered his soul to Our Lord, who took him into the glory of heaven around midnight, between the twenty-fifth and twenty-sixth day of May, at the age of eighty, the forty-fourth of his priesthood, and the twentieth since the establishment of his congregation.

His body was opened in the presence of the doctors and the Fathers of the house, and it was known that God had miraculously preserved his life for several years: for two ribs were found separated from their natural place, the artery that carries blood to the lungs empty, and the heart swollen, dried on the outside, and almost entirely exhausted; which had come, according to all appearances, from the fact that love had consumed him. A marvelous thing happened while his body was being opened; for, when he was turned from side to side, he always covered himself with his hands, as if he had been alive; and he had done the same the previous night, in the presence of the Fathers, when he was being washed: which marks the angelic purity he preserved all his life.

His heart and entrails were placed in the ordinary burial place of the Fathers of the congregation, and his body was exposed in the church, where the people came in crowds for three days to offer him their marks of veneration; then, by the order of the cardinals of Florence and Borromeo, he was dressed in his priestly vestments, enclosed in a walnut wood casket, and deposited in a small chapel closed by a brick wall, as he had predicted himself, although obscurely and without anyone understanding then what he meant.

So many wonders occurred during the life and immediately after the death of the servant of God that they gave cause to soon begin working on the process of his canonization. The resolution for this was taken as early as the time of Pope Clement VIII, and it was subsequently pursued by Paul V, his successor, at the instance of Henry the Great, King of France, who wrote of it all the more willingly as this Blessed one had labored with ardor for his reconciliation with the Roman Church: finally, the ceremony was performed by Pope Gregory XV, at the supplication of Louis XIII and Queen Marie de' Medici, his mother, in the year 1622, in the month of March.

The features of the life of Saint Philip Neri upon which the palette of painters and the chisel of sculptors have most willingly exercised themselves are the following: 1° Our Lady appears to him supporting the roof of his chapel which was about to collapse. We have alluded to this marvelous event; 2° in priestly vestments, he celebrates the Holy Mass. This recalls the ardent piety with which he ascended the altar. 3° A German engraving that we have before our eyes recalls the meeting of Saint Philip Neri and Saint Felix of Cantalice in the streets of Rome. The founder of the Oratory drinks without ceremony from the gourd of the begging friar: from which one may conclude that this is the most popular characteristic of the Saint; 4° he is surrounded by children and young people. We know the love he bore them. The Oratorians have adopted as their coat of arms the image of Saint Mary in Vallicella, which Baronius had engraved on the frontispiece of his Annals and the Martyrology.

A relic of Saint Philip Neri is preciously kept by the Ursulines of Amiens.

[Former] bishop of Saluzzo, one of the first companions of Saint Philip. One could also name illustrious writers, men famous in the sciences and the arts. But we refer to ecclesiastical history.

May we only be permitted to report here, regarding certain Fathers of the Congregation, some particular traits that the multitude of more important events has caused great historians to neglect.

II. Father Erasmo di Bertholo, of the Congregation of Naples, was a very skillful musician. He left a large number of religious compositions that breathe a sweet and tender piety, and where the vivacity of expression is united with a character of inimitable nobility. "His melodies," says the historian, "simple and naive, grave and majestic, had something celestial that charmed the ear and touched the heart, even to the point of drawing tears." Thus, as soon as a feast was celebrated at the Oratory of Naples, crowds would flock to the solemn offices to hear these chants that enraptured souls and filled them with consolation. It was even rumored among the artists of his time that these harmonies worthy of the angels were less the work of genius than the effect of a celestial inspiration.

Stricken by the plague, the pious artist died in the odor of sanctity, and his soul went to heaven to sing with the Blessed the praises of Him whom it had already sung on earth.

III. Father Thomas Sommerset was born of a very illustrious family allied to the royal family of England. To keep his faith pure and intact, he voluntarily exiled himself from his homeland at a still tender age. He came to Perugia, where, for several years, he devoted himself to profane and ecclesiastical studies. After his education, he fixed his residence in Rome, and was soon made chamberlain of honor by two Popes, Innocent X and Alexander VII, then canon of Saint Peter's.

Attracted by the odor of the virtues that the Congregation of Perugia spread day by day, with which he had had very close relations, he generously stripped himself of all his dignities to embrace the institute in that house. A profound humility and an admirable charity for the poor, into whose bosoms he poured abundant alms, were his two inseparable companions. Clement IX, wishing to send to England, for the affairs of religion, a worthy personage with the character of intendant, cast his eyes on Father Sommerset. He had him depart with much honor and privileges to soften his difficult mission. There, the pious intendant having been discovered by the heretics, he thrilled with joy and love for Jesus Christ at the thought that he was going to shed his blood for this divine Savior. But King Charles II forced him to take refuge in Flanders, giving him all the means for the crossing. From there, he wrote a very affectionate letter to his beloved brothers of Perugia, telling them what he had done and suffered for the faith, and manifesting to them the desire that devoured him to return finally to his dear Congregation to end his days there. But it pleased God to dispose otherwise. Surprised by a mortal illness, he passed to a better life in the city of Dunkirk, in the seventy-eighth year of his age.

IV. Father Leander Colloredo was of a very illustrious family in Bohemia, Sweden, and Germany. At the age of seventeen, he embraced the institute of the Oratory in the house of Rome. He had angelic manners and an ardent zeal for the salvation of souls. His piety and science engaged Innocent XI to give him the purple. Colloredo, struck as if by a terrible and unexpected blow, threw himself at the feet of the Holy Father and begged him to exempt him from such a dignity. But it was necessary to yield to the formal command of the Vicar of Jesus Christ. In stripping off his religious habits to put on the purple, he drew from his heart a deep and painful sigh, and cried out: *Hodie exui me tunica lætitiæ*; — "I have stripped myself today of the tunic of gladness"; he was raised later, and still against his will, to the very honorable office of Grand Penitentiary.

It would be difficult to paint the paternal kindness, the touching attentions with which he welcomed repentant sinners, apostates who had returned to themselves, and disillusioned heretics. A singular prudence, an invincible strength of soul, a profound humility, a heroic mansuetude, an admirable poverty, a virginal purity, a boundless charity, a blind obedience: such were the virtues that shone in the illustrious cardinal. Seeing the countless calamities that were falling upon the Church, and mainly upon the Pontifical States, he offered his own life to satisfy the outraged justice of God. His sacrifice was accepted: he died some time later, as he had predicted several times. Rome did not delay in experiencing the fruit of this sublime immolation. Thus, Father Colloredo has always been regarded as a great Saint. He announced future things, penetrated the secret of hearts, and healed several sick people during his life and after his death. His body remained exposed for four whole days before being placed in the tomb; during all this time, one noticed the same flexibility, the same suppleness, the same complexion that his limbs had before death. Two vials of his blood, which were collected long after, at the very time when Father Pucetti, of the Clerks Regular of the Mother of God, was having his life printed, are still preserved; this blood is still liquid, red, and vivid, as if it were gushing from his veins. Such was the esteem in which the science and virtues of this holy man were held that all the foreigners who came to Rome wanted to see him as one of the first wonders of this city, which is full of them. From all of Christendom, bishops had recourse to him as to their protector and the defender of their rights.

SAINT PHILIP NERI, FOUNDER OF THE ORATORY. In Vienna, one saw the portrait of the venerable cardinal, a tribute from the entire grateful city, with this praise taken from Ecclesiasticus: *Præcellens in operibus suis*.

The heretics came in great numbers to see and hear him. One of them could not help but say one day that the advantages of the Roman Church over all other religions shone with a most marvelous brilliance in such a personage. In France, in Spain, in Germany, and even in the British Isles, his name was in veneration.

The famous Fathers Maurice, Mabillon, Buinart, and Martène praise him in several places in their works; Mabillon especially, in his book entitled: *Iter Italicum...* Among the most pleasant and happy things that happened to him in Rome, he counts the friendship he contracted with Father Colloredo. He had heard of him in Paris, and he says he wanted to serve his Mass several times when he was still only a simple Oratorian.

Emperor Leopold had a great veneration for him, as did many other sovereigns, a crowd of bishops, and finally men distinguished in every kind.

The Blessed Cardinal Barbarigo called him the heir of the spirit of Saint Francis de Sales.

Innocent XI thought so highly of his insights that he submitted himself, so to speak, to his advice whenever it was a question of appointing to dignities or condemning erroneous or scandalous books.

Innocent XII consulted him on the most grave and delicate questions; and finally, Clement XI, when he was a cardinal, kept as a relic what he could have of Father Colloredo; and, when he was raised to the papacy, he always regarded him as the strongest pillar of his pontificate. Upon learning of his death, he could not help but shed abundant tears over such a great loss. And as he could no longer use his insights in this world, he wanted, at least, as he declared himself, to have his protection in heaven, and that is why, in all his difficulties, he had recourse to him and invoked him as a Saint.

V. Father Pietro Ottoboni, nephew of Alexander VIII, Bishop of Sabina, Archpriest of the patriarchal Iberian basilica, Vice-Chancellor of the Holy Roman Church, Secretary of State, was also chosen by Louis XIV, King of France, to be the protector of the kingdom near the Holy See. He has, with good reason, been called the *Maecenas* of his century, the protector of scholars: he was very learned himself, and one of the best poets of his century.

He held in his palace an academy of the finest geniuses of Rome, giving to some advice, to others encouragement, to all praise and favors.

VI. Father Taruggi was a man of extraordinary eloquence. Thus, Baronius called him *dux verbi*, — "Master man in words." By his discourses as well as by his virtues, he converted a large number of sinners and brought back into the care of the Church a crowd of heretics. A great preacher said "that, to hear him, he would gladly walk a mile on his elbows."

He showed great skill and great prudence in the administration of the most important affairs of the Church. The holy pontiff Pius V associated him with Cardinal Alexandrin in the famous embassy he sent to the Christian princes to unite them against Selim II. Gregory XIII chose him to assist at the death of the Duke of Cleves, in the pontifical palace.

Several princes of Europe held him in such singular esteem that they sent him gifts without his ever wanting to accept them. Forced to obey the formal command of the Sovereign Pontiff, he was consecrated Archbishop of Avignon, despite his complaints and abundant tears. He endured great fatigues for the visitation of his diocese, the reform of the people and the clergy, to which he worked with as much gentleness as firmness. The bishops of France had a particular veneration for him; they all flocked to see him, and one of them, the Bishop of Verdun, said in his praise: *Tam claram virtutis lucem Galliis nostris intuiti Tourusius* (Taruggi), *ut episcopi e remotissimis partibus et angulis ad eum ventitarent, tanquam ad ecclesiasticæ disciplinæ normam et ideam spirantem*.

It was in Avignon that he formed, with Father de Bérulle, the plan of the Oratory of France. — When his promotion to the cardinalate was announced to him, he gave no sign of joy, and even deferred opening the pontifical letters.

Later, having been called to Rome by the Pope, he used his authority to pacify the duchies of Mantua and Parma, and refused the gifts that were offered to him in recognition. He was highly esteemed by the most venerable men of his time, among others by Saint Charles Borromeo and Saint Ignatius of Loyola. It happened sometimes that the love of God became so violent in his heart that he felt as if he were burning internally; this love that he had for God spilled over onto the poor; to give them alms, he finally sold his purple cloak and his episcopal ring.

He had the gift of tears to the point of shedding them abundantly in his preachings and in the sacred functions. He also had the gift of prophecy, was several times rapt in ecstasy, and healed many sick people.

In one of his pastoral visits, two bands of sheep, having separated from the rest of a numerous flock that was grazing in the countryside, ran to meet him and did not leave him until he had given them his blessing.

In another circumstance, while going to Marseille, he calmed a horrible storm that was about to submerge the ship, with these words alone: *In nomine Domini obmutesce*. As for his talents and his science, here is what Vittorelli wrote of them: *Vir fuit egregius, ad maxima quoque pertractanda optus, longo verum uru, uberitate linguarum sanctorum humanarumque litterarum multiplici eruditione conspicuus ; sermocinandi gratia imprimis elegans, et magne doctrinæ atque in dictis suis non minus sententiarum gravitate quam ornatu insignis*.

And the great pontiff Leo XI said of him: *Se in ea esse sententia ut existimaret neminem in christiana republica tunc temporis existere cui Deus plura et illustriora credidisset*.

VII. Father Giustiniani, born of a princely family of Rome, united to a remarkable talent for the pulpit an unassailable integrity and a seraphic piety. The rumor of his virtues having reached the ears of Cardinal Barberini, later Urban VIII, he made him a consultor of the Holy Office and apostolic visitor; then soon raised him to the episcopal see of Montalto.

From there, Father Giustiniani was transferred to Nocera, in Umbria, after the death of Urban. Innocent X gave him the purple, made him Grand Penitentiary and Librarian of the Holy Roman Church; and it is mainly in the exercise of these two offices that he immortalized his name. His talents and his virtues designated him as the successor of Innocent X; but death forestalled him. His last moments worthily crowned such a life; he gave marks of the greatest confidence in God, of the most tender piety, and wanted his body to be placed in the vault of the Fathers of the Oratory, in the church of Vallicella. The various works that remain of him are proof of his science.

VIII. One of the first disciples of Saint Philip Neri was Caesar Baron, born in 1538, in Sora, in the Terra di Lavoro, and better known under the Latinized name of Baronius. He was destined by God to combat Protestantism on the terrain of history. His father was named Camillo, his mother, Portia Plombonia. The latter offered to the Blessed Virgin the child she carried in her womb, and renewed her offering and her prayers when Caesar, at the age of three, fell dangerously ill. The child recovered, and, having later heard of his miraculous healing, he vowed himself to the serv César Baron Disciple of Philip, historian and cardinal, author of the Annales ecclesiastici. ice of the Blessed Virgin and called himself "Caesar, servant of Mary." He was sent by his father, struck by his precocious intelligence, to Veroli, in the vicinity, to pursue his studies there; from there he went, at the age of eighteen, to Naples, which the troubles of war forced him to abandon after a year of stay. He went, in accordance with his father's wishes, to Rome, where he continued his studies of civil law and canon law under Caesar Costa, later Archbishop of Capua.

Baronius was introduced by Marc Sorano, one of his friends, to Saint Philip Neri, founder of the Oratory of Rome, and from then on his career was fixed, despite every effort the holy founder made to prevent him from taking an irrevocable path too quickly. Baronius entered the Congregation of Saint Philip, and, alongside his always active studies, served the sick in a hospital. This sudden decision displeased his father so much that he withdrew all means of subsistence from him. Baronius, recommended by Saint Philip, was welcomed by a rich and very distinguished man, Jean-Michel Paravicini, who kept him for seven years and treated him like a son. After long trials, Baronius, aged twenty-five, received the priesthood and finally managed to reconcile with his parents, whose ambitious views had been disappointed.

When the Florentines obtained from Saint Philip that the spiritual exercises would be held in the national church they possessed in Rome, Caesar Baronius was charged with the care of this church at the same time as Jean-François Bourdin, who later became Bishop of Avignon, and a few others. It is on this occasion that Baronius was promoted to the priesthood: he was the first priest of the Oratory. The members of the nascent community went three times a day to Saint Philip who had remained at San Girolamo, without either the rigors of winter or the heat of the sun being able to prevent them from making this pilgrimage. Spiritual occupations did not fill their time alone, for the burden of temporal administration also weighed on them. They served Mass one day each. Every Saturday they swept the church together. For a long time, each of the members of the small community did the cooking in turn for a week. One thus saw Baronius occupy his hands, which wrote so learnedly the annals of the Church, in preparing and cooking food. Several illustrious personages having gone to see him to deal with him on grave matters, or to clarify points of history, found him surrounded by an apron, washing plates and ladders. They were deeply edified by this spectacle and declared that Baronius had even more rights to their veneration when he performed the functions of a cook than when he wrote the annals. Moreover, this worthy disciple of Saint Philip embraced this humble office so willingly that he had written gaily on the chimney: "Caesar Baronius, cook in perpetuity."

His preachings in the church of the Florentines and in the Oratory of San Girolamo were very well attended, very fruitful, and attracted to him the attention of Saint Charles Borromeo, Cardinal-Archbishop of Milan, who asked for him to make him his advisor. Baronius refused this charge, as well as a canonry of his native city and the episcopal dignity that were offered to him successively by the three popes Gregory XIII, Sixtus V, and Gregory XIV. Incessant work and excessive austerities often made him ill; but Saint Philip prayed for his recovery, and thus had to preserve for his society an illustrious leader; for Baronius was obliged to accept the functions of superior of the Congregation of the Oratory when Saint Philip resigned in 1593. He was forced to accept the charges and dignities of confessor to the Pope, of apostolic protonotary (1593), of librarian of the Vatican, and of cardinal (1596) that the Sovereign Pontiff imposed on him. He was even, in all probability, going to be elected Pope after Clement VIII and Leo XI, all the cardinals being in agreement, when the court of Spain, wounded by the boldness of his work *Monarchia Siciliae*, imposed its veto. Moreover, his prudence and his perseverance would also have preserved him from an elevation that he dreaded; for his most ardent vow was to renounce all dignities to live, as was his vocation, only in the midst of his books, solely occupied with his studies.

Various traits that we collect in the life of Saint Philip will make us know both the manner of the master and the virtues of the disciples. It is known that Saint Philip gave charity as a bond to his Congregation. He was not content with interior charity; he wanted this charity to be manifested by external testimonies of esteem and friendship. He also wanted this fraternal love to extend from all to each and from each to all. He did not approve of those particular sympathies that establish in some way a small Congregation within the large one, and, under the pretext of a greater spiritual profit, only procure for some the pleasure of a chosen conversation to deprive all the others of the testimonies of esteem and affection that are due to them. Tarugi and Baronius, already being cardinals, came one evening to dine at the Vallicella. After dinner came the recreation, and Baronius, taking one of the Fathers aside, chatted at length with him on a subject that interested them both deeply. Tarugi thought he should make a fraternal correction on this subject. He pointed out publicly to Baronius that, by this private conversation, he was doing harm to the common charity, and that all the Fathers wanted to enjoy his presence and his conversation. Baronius received this observation humbly, and, remembering the prescriptions of Saint Philip, came to mingle with the community.

When Baronius had presented to the Sovereign Pontiff his annotations to the Roman Martyrology, Sixtus V, who was keenly interested in the publication of the Annals, assigned the learned Oratorian an ecclesiastical pension to give him the means to pursue his great enterprise. As soon as Saint Philip had learned of the Pope's liberality, he seized this occasion to mortify Baronius, to whom his beautiful historical work attracted innumerable praises. "Now that you have some income," he said to him, "you must contribute like the others to the expenses of the house; you can no longer plead impossibility." These words seemed harsh to Baronius. He believed it his duty to use for the publication of the Annals all the money he received from the Sovereign Pontiff. He was obliged to have many manuscripts copied in the Vatican library, and, to suffice for these expenses necessary for his work, he needed his entire pension. He had recourse to various reasonings to decide Saint Philip to require nothing of him, but the Blessed one showed himself inflexible. He knew that Baronius would end up practicing in the most meritorious manner the virtue of obedience. Tormented for an instant, assailed by various thoughts, Baronius prayed Thomas Boxio to intercede for him with Saint Philip, to plead in his favor, and to add that he would be obliged to leave the Congregation rather than use for anything other than the publication of the Annals the income that the Pope had just given him. Boxio acted as the interpreter for Baronius and spoke for him with as much eloquence as skill, but nothing could shake the resolution of Saint Philip, who ended the conversation thus: "Go tell Caesar that he will contribute to the common expenses or he will leave the house; God has need of no one." Upon hearing such a formal decree, Boxio thought he should exhort Baronius to submit to everything that Saint Philip required of him, given that he owed him all that he had of science, piety, and consideration. Baronius yielded to this fraternally expressed advice. He went immediately to Saint Philip's room, knelt before him and, humbly asking his pardon, declared himself ready to give everything he had. The Blessed one raised him up, saying to him: "Now you have done your duty. I do not want your money; but learn to begin, another time, with prompt obedience."

What did Saint Philip not do to accustom Baronius to despise the high reputation he had acquired and to root him in holy humility? Several times he sent him to the inn with a large flask to buy a half-measure of wine. When Rome already knew his profound erudition, one saw him in public funerals carry the cross before the deceased, by order of Saint Philip; a humiliation that he could not practice without being more dead to himself and to the esteem of the world than the corpse he was accompanying to the cemetery. Thus, Baronius loved with an affection full of tenderness the Congregation that had served as a cradle for his virtue, his talents, and his fame; he took pleasure in coming to forget in the silence of the Oratory the honors of the purple. "There," he said, "there is the little nest where I want to die": — *In initiali meo morior*.

After having uselessly employed all his efforts and instances not to leave the bosom of the Congregation, he wanted at least to keep, being a cardinal, the keys of his old cell. To console himself, he often went to eat at the table of the Fathers, served in the refectory, assisted in the choir at Vespers, administered to the faithful in the church of Vallicella the Holy Eucharist, gave familiar instructions to the young people, and never wanted to have any other confessor than the one of the house, confessing like the simple faithful in the church without ever accepting a cushion.

In his old age, he retired to some room near the church to end his life in his dear Congregation. He died there of a stomach illness, on June 30, 1607, universally loved and honored, leaving with the fame of a scholar of the first order that more precious one still of a Saint.

Baronius was declared venerable by the Holy See in the last century.

His literary activity was prodigious. Besides some letters, we possess two important works of Baronius, namely: his *Ecclesiastical Annals* and his edition of the *Roman Martyrology*. This edition appeared first in Rome in 1586; then in Venice, 1587-1597, in-4°; in Antwerp, 1589, in-fol., under the title: *Martyrologium romanum restitutum, Greg. XIII jussu editum, cum notis Cæs. Baronii*.

His *Annals* are more famous. It is known that some Lutheran theologians, Matthias Flacius in the lead, seeking to attach the doctrine of Luther to the traditions of the first centuries, took incredible pains to falsify history and disfigure everything that was Catholic, down to the smallest detail, in their famous work: *Magdeburg Centuries*. Born in 1517, says Rohrbacher, the heresy had neither ancestor nor history: it saw itself condemned by the mere presence of this Church that embraces all the centuries, that goes back from us to Jesus Christ and from Jesus Christ, through the prophets and the patriarchs, to our first father, who was of God, our Father who is in heaven. But as the old serpent abused the word of God to seduce our first parents, to tempt the Savior himself, so the Lutheran heresy, an adulterous child, but recognized by the serpent, abused the word of God and the history of the Church, to slander the Church of God and seduce the peoples. Such are the spirit and the goal of the *Magdeburg Centuries*, ecclesiastical history composed by centuries or ages in Magdeburg, by the principal doctors of rigid Lutheranism. As it is from hell that all heresies come, as they are themselves of those gates of hell that strive to prevail against the Church built by Christ on Peter, it was natural that the Lutheran heresy should take the defense of all its predecessor sisters against the Church of Christ and finally against Christ himself. Saint Philip Neri recognized that it was indispensable that one should oppose to this enterprise a work of history founded on the study of the sources. "It is a complete history that we need," said Saint Philip to his disciple, "from the advent of Jesus Christ until the present time; make researches in all the ecclesiastical writers, and show us by whom and how the churches were established; what the Fathers taught and what the councils decided. Relate the Acts of the martyrs, and show that the faith owed its progress to persecutions. When you have arrived at the conversion of the princes, you will aim to well establish this sad truth, that the Church lost little by little in holiness what it gained in power and riches."

Baronius, frightened by such an enterprise, of which he had never thought, did what he could to decline it. "I have nothing of what is needed for that," he said to his Father; "accustomed to speaking to the people, I have only a familiar style, and erudition is not my business; how could I be erudite, I who have no time to study?" Philip, little touched by these excuses, because he knew his capacity, insisted that he set his hand to the work; but when, after many instances, he saw that his disciple did not yield, he had recourse to a more effective means. "It seems," he said to him, "that you need a command. Well! I order that, leaving there all other occupation, you render to the Church the service that I ask of you." Baronius, thunderstruck by this unexpected order, wanted nevertheless to make a last effort. He claimed that the need for such a work being evident, it would excite the zeal of men more versed than he in ecclesiastical things; he even added having heard it said that Onofrio Panvinio, one of the most erudite writers of the era, was already occupying himself with this work. "That may be," replied the Father; "but, in the meantime, do what I order you, trusting in God, and he will help you." Respect prevented Baronius from insisting further; but he remained always very hesitant, the dupe of an illusion to which it pleased God to provide a remedy.

The following night, he saw in a dream Onofrio Panvinio who begged him to continue the work he had begun, and because he refused to comply with his desire, the latter had recourse to the most pressing prayers. However, he was still resisting, when a voice made itself heard, and said to him: "Yield, Baronius, it is not Panvinio, but you whom I charge to write the *Ecclesiastical Annals*." Baronius, recognizing the voice of his master, was very surprised to hear him speak, although absent. The next day, curious to understand this mystery, he told the thing to the holy man who, in his adroit humility, replied: "What a pity that I am not Joseph!" From that moment, Baronius felt delivered from his hesitations. He set to work with courage. He exposed the whole history of the Church, in the conferences of the Oratory, following the order of the years, from the coming of the Son of God, until the Pontificate of the Pope who was reigning then. After having finished this course of history, he began it again on the order of Saint Philip. In the space of thirty years, he exposed seven times all the ecclesiastical annals. When he had thus deepened everything that related to the history of the Church, Saint Philip ordered him to deliver to the press his

SAINT PHILIP NERI, FOUNDER OF THE ORATORY. learned researches, so that posterity could enjoy the fruit of his labors. He published the first volume of his *Annals*. Saint Philip, who had been the promoter of this immense publication, did not see it finished. In the preface of volume VIII of his *Annals*, Baronius does not fear to say that one must attribute his work to Saint Philip rather than to himself, and that the prayers of the Saint had contributed more than his own labors to the success of his ecclesiastical history. We will report here this preface which makes us appreciate at the same time the one who wrote it and the one to whom it is addressed.

"Thanksgiving to the Blessed Philip Neri, founder of the Congregation of the Oratory, for the *Ecclesiastical Annals* of Caesar Baronius, priest cardinal of the Holy Roman Church, titular of Saints Nereus and Achilleus, and apostolic librarian.

"I could not speak openly of the part my father had in the plan and execution of this work, while he lived; for not only did he not like praise, but he bore it an irreconcilable hatred. Today that he is in heaven, I want my pen, having become free, to carry far the testimony of the precious assistance he gave me in this long and difficult work. It is justice, and I would be an ingrate if I could bury in oblivion such important services; besides, besides that the remembrance of our fathers is full of sweetness, it is no less profitable; for it reminds us that we must not degenerate from their virtues. Such is the warning that the divine oracles give us. "Remember," says the prophet Isaiah, "the rock from which you were hewn, and the deep quarry from which you were drawn. Remember that Abraham was your father, and Sarah your mother (Isaiah, LI, 1, 2)." In general, it is true to say that all the prosperous things that happen to children are due, in large part at least, to their parents. Oh! what obligations do I not have to this great servant of God, I who was his disciple since my youth, I whose vicious inclinations he repressed, and whom he preserved from so many fatal falls, I finally, who am indebted to his apostolic spirit for the little virtue that I possess, and the little good that I have done.

"I return again to my *Annals*, to declare to all those who will read them that my blessed Father makes them the author more than I. What man would I be if, instead of sharing my successes with the one to whom I was indebted for them, I attributed them to my talents alone? If, like that arrogant one of whom the Prophet speaks, I said, or let it be believed that "I have done everything by the strength of my arm," and conceived everything in my wisdom? Oh! then I would draw upon my head the terrible reproach made to that proud one: "Will the axe boast against him who uses it? Will the saw raise itself against the hand that sets it to work?" God preserve me from a sin that was punished with such rigor; for God overthrew that proud prince from his throne, and sent him to live with the beasts (Isaiah, X, 13, 15).

"Do I boast in man, and not in the Lord? God forbid; but I want it to be known that the Father of lights used this holy man to enlighten and guide my spirit, so that the instrument has made the part that returns to it in my just gratitude. O my Father! I have not forgotten, and I will never forget the indignation that you were caused by the *Centuries calomnienses* that came out of Magdeburg, or rather from the gates of hell. You complained to God of so many outrages done to your Church, and his Spirit inspired you with the means to take to repel them. It was to oppose the great day of truth to the night of falsehood. Make, you said to me then, a work drawn from the pure sources, which shows the men and the events such as they have been. I resisted at first your advice, believing myself incapable of such a work; but I had to yield to your authority to be at peace with my conscience. You did not forget then, as I was doing, that God loves to use what is weak according to the world, to confound what is strong; that is why you chose your youngest and most ignorant son to do battle with an army of scholars nourished in dispute. I set myself then to the work, although with bad grace, and often tempted to abandon my work; but you were there, my Father, imposing yourself on me by your presence, pressing me by your reproaches, demanding of me, like a hard exactor, suffer that I say it, the use of my days, and not permitting that I occupy myself with anything other than your enterprise. My obedience, I make the avowal to you, was often very defective; consulting only my strength, without thinking of the divine help that your prayers obtained for me, I accused you almost of tyranny, and complained greatly especially that you did not give me at least one of my brothers to help me in my researches. Pardon, my Father, pardon, I understand today the powerful help that I received from you, without suspecting it.

"Similar to the prophet Elisha who, by putting his hand on the hand of Joash, while he was shooting his arrows, made him the victor over the King of Syria; you also joined to my weak hand your powerful hand, you sharpened my style to change it into piercing arrows, and formidable to our enemies. Thus, my Father, it was you who were fighting, but with a foreign hand. Moreover, everyone will recognize in this circumstance one of the habitual ruses of your modesty; for, while doing wonders, you had great care to decline the honor, fearing nothing so much as human praises. That is why one saw you ordinarily hide your wisdom under the appearance of folly, practicing thus to the letter this counsel of the Apostle: "Let him who wants to become wise begin by making himself a fool (I Cor., III)."

"But this glory that you fled with such care, placed on the celestial bank, was one day to be returned to you with interest. It has come, this day of justices and remunerations. Providence, by breaking the earthly vase that held your invisible lamp, has brought it to light; it shines today with a dazzling light that the noise of your miracles carries far. You knew how to stifle the voice of those that you were doing during your mortal life; but God did not permit that they should remain always hidden. Everyone knows them now, and their brilliance is each day enhanced by new wonders. From the height of heaven, my Father, favor these Annals which are your work, and finish by your prayers what your prayers have begun, so that the enemies of the Church may be overthrown, and that you may have alone all the honor of the victory.

"Saint Basil, dead as he was, still served as director to his friend Gregory. Render me the same service, O Father full of charity, so that I may finish holily my mortal career, and that I may arrive finally at this blessed rest which you enjoy in the bosom of God to whom be praise, honor, and glory in the centuries of centuries."

Until here we have let Cardinal Baronius speak; but we will add a fact analogous to what he has just said. A few days before leaving the earth, the Saint had his learned disciple come near him, and said to him: "Know, Caesar, that you must not be proud of your Annals. I can assure you that they are less the effect of your talents than of a particular grace that has come to you from on high." — "I recognize, my Father," replied Baronius, "and confess sincerely that if this work has any value, it is to you and to your prayers that I am indebted for it." — "I advise you," added the holy man, "to make your legends agree with the Roman Martyrology; the ecclesiastical truth will appear clearer, and the lies of the enemies will vanish like the clouds at the rising of the sun."

Baronius undertook this work with incredible ardor, studied the Acts of the Councils, the most important and oldest historical works, the Fathers of the Church, Latin and Greek, consulted all the libraries of Rome and especially those of the Vatican. At the sight of these immense materials gathered, a bishop asked him with stupefaction how many secretaries he had employed for this work; Baronius replied smiling: "I have been alone to tread this winepress." He put to work all these materials in the form of Annals, following the Centuriators, and, dedicating a folio volume to each century, he left twelve finished. Moreover, he recopied several times with his hand this immense work. The Vatican library possesses a complete copy in the hand of Baronius. However, he did not forget, in the midst of his prodigious labors, neither the exercises of a rigorous asceticism nor the other obligations of his vocation.

It is not astonishing that he could not always dominate all his material. The criticism of his time was still very backward, and the chronology, like the geography, full of errors. He accepted the observations of everyone, rectified what required to be corrected, and often said with Saint Augustine: "I love him who corrects me with truth and severity"; or else: "I accept the blame of the just man, provided that it be just." Baronius excuses himself for the inevitable defects of his work by saying: "If anyone found that I have not deepened equally all the points of these Annals, I would ask for my justification that he would be willing to consider that I have not had a single day free from interruption, from cares of every kind, from charges of every kind and that I would have marked with white chalk the day when I could have given myself entirely and solely to my work."

This immense work was continued until 1563 by Odoric Raynald, and until 1572 by Jacques Laderchi, both of the same congregation of the Oratory. The Polish Dominican, Abraham Bzovius, continued Baronius on his side until 1572; the Frenchman Henri de Sponde, Bishop of Pamiers, until 1646, besides an abridgment of Baronius in its entirety. The two French religious, Antoine and François Pagi, of the Order of Saint Francis, published, under the name of criticism of Baronius, four folio volumes, much less of corrections than of additions; and it would be a great error to believe or to say that the criticism of Pagi consists only in pointing out errors. The best edition of the annals of Baronius, with their continuation by his two confreres, is that of Mansi, Archbishop of Lucca, who has joined to it, year by year, the corrections and additions of the Pagi, with his own observations; the whole in thirty-eight folio volumes, which appeared in Lucca from 1738 to 1756.

The Annals of Baronius with the first continuation by Raynaldi, Laderchi, the Criticisms of Pagi and the Notes of Mansi, are being printed, at this moment, at the printing house of the Celestines, in Bar-le-Duc.

The first twenty-nine volumes have appeared.

IX. Despite the length of this article, we cannot dispense with saying a word about the Oratory of Germany and its founder, reserving to speak of that of France regarding Cardinal de Bérulle, in the volume devoted to the venerables.

The venerable Barthélemy Holzhauser, reformer of the clerical life among the secular priests of Germany, was born in 1613, in the village of Languenau, near Augsburg, and came from a poor family. He did his studies under charitable ecclesiastics who were willing to take charge of teaching him Latin and the humanities. He then went to study philosophy and theology at Ingolstadt. Ordained priest at Eichstätt, in 1639, he exercised the holy ministry for a year in this last city. In 1640, he traced a plan for the execution of the design he had conceived of forming a nursery of good and worthy secular priests. As there were not yet seminaries everywhere at that time, that several pastors, in their rectories, did not respond to their high vocation, and that workers whitened in the vineyard of the Lord saw themselves reduced to passing their old age in poverty and abandonment, he wanted: 1° that young ecclesiastics should be raised for the service of the Church, in a private house, and under the authority of a determined Rule; 2° that ecclesiastics already invested with pastoral functions should also meet in communities, each having its head and a Rule conformable to their vocation, and that the neighboring parishes should be served by them; 3° that secular priests aged in the exercises of the ministry should be dispensed from all functions, and surrounded by suitable care in their last days.

It is by these measures that the pious Holzhauser wanted to reform the clergy, and his i Barthélemy Holzhauser Founder of the Oratory in Germany. deas were welcomed in several parts of Germany. The Tyrol, Salzburg, Constance, Regensburg, Bavaria, Würzburg, Mainz, etc., saw communities of this kind form and flourish.

He left, among other works, an *Interpretation of the Apocalypse of Saint John*, which only goes until the fifth verse of the fifteenth chapter, an astonishing work, it is said, and which offers such an admirable concordance of times and events, that the other commentaries of this sacred book are in comparison only children's games. He composed it at Lenggenthal, while he was overwhelmed by great tribulations, in the midst of which he gave himself to incessant prayer, and passed entire days without drinking or eating, isolating himself from all human society. As he was asked what was the state of his soul, when he had written it, he melted into tears and replied: "I was like a child whose hand one guides to make him write." This commentary, which remained in manuscript for more than a century and a half, was only printed in 1799. The venerable Holzhauser also left a book of visions that has not yet seen the light of day.

This worthy minister of the Lord died pastor of Bingen, in the diocese of Mainz, on May 20, 1658. It is reported that he healed several sick people by his prayers and that God favored him with the gift of prophecy. His institution prospered more and more and was confirmed, in 1680, by a bull of Pope Innocent XI. It was reserved for the revolutions that we have seen in our days, to destroy, with all the other ecclesiastical establishments, the seminaries and the houses still existing of the disciples of the venerable Holzhauser. See *Vit. ven. Barthol. Holzhauser, ab anonymo* 1723, *Ingolstadt*, and *Tyrocin. seminariatic.*, by François Huth.

Father Antoine Galante, priest of the Congregation of the Roman Oratory, composed at great length the life of Saint Philip Neri. Father Hilarion de Ceste, of the Order of Minims, made it more in abridgment, in his *Catholic History of the XVIth Century*. Saint Francis de Sales, Bishop of Geneva, speaks of him with much honor in several places of his *Treatise on the Love of God*. For what we have said of it, we have drawn it particularly from the Bull of his canonization, made by Gregory XV, and published by Urban VIII. This Pope ordered that his feast be made semi-double; but since that time, it is double, by virtue of a decree of Clement IX. — We have taken what concerns the constitutions of the Oratory and the principal disciples of Saint Philip in a brochure, today exhausted, which was published, in 1852, under this title: *The Oratory of Rome*.