Apostleship of Prayer - Saints
August 1 - St Alphonsus Liguori
Born in 1696 at Naples. He first studied law at the University of Naples and, at the age of sixteen, took doctorates in civil and canon law. He was ordained a priest and spent his efforts in hearing confessions. In 1732 he founded the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer, the Redemptorists. This congregation consisted of priests and brothers who lived a common life and whose main work was popular missions to simple peasants in rural areas. Very soon he found himself deserted by his companions. Nevertheless the Congregation came back together and was formally approved in 1749. Alphonsus was not only a great orator but also he was famous for his simplicity in the confessional.
Alphonsus was also a great writer in Moral Theology but we should also note that he wrote well in the areas of dogmatic theology and spiritual theology. One of his greatest works was The Stations of the Cross.
At the end of his life he was afflicted the tremendous rheumatic pains. He died in 1787 at Nocera del Pagani in Campangna.
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