Today, August 1, is the memorial of Saint Alphonsus Maria de Liguori.
Doctor of the Church.
Founder of the Redemptorists.
Alphonsus was born in 1696 in Marianella, Italy, to Giuseppe, a naval officer, and Anna Maria.
In life he became a lawyer, but a case he lost proved pivotal in his decision to leave the practice. An interior voice prodded him to “Leave the world and give yourself to me.”
When he became priest in 1726, he dedicated his ministry to the poor and the marginalized. His preaching was so effective that it led to conversions.
In 1732, he founded the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer (the Redemptorists). In 1762 he was consecrated Bishop of Sant’Agata dei Goti. A prolific writer, he published nine editions of his Moral Theology in his lifetime, in addition to other devotional and ascetic works and letters. Among his best known works are “The Glories of Mary” and “The Way of the Cross,” the latter still used in parishes during Lenten devotions. His writings encouraged devotion to the Blessed Sacrament. He also addressed ecclesiastical abuses in his diocese.
He died of natural causes in 1787. He was beatified by the Servant of God Pope Pius VII in 1816. Pope Gregory XVI canonized him in 1839. Blessed Pope Pius IX proclaimed him Doctor of the Church in 1871.