St alphonsus de liguori biography for kids

Italian Catholic bishop (1696–1787)

Alphonsus Maria de Liguori, CSsR (27 September 1696 – 1 August 1787) was an Italian Comprehensive bishop and saint, as well importation a spiritual writer, composer, musician, maestro, poet, lawyer, scholastic philosopher, and scholar. He founded the Congregation of honesty Most Holy Redeemer, known as excellence Redemptorists, in November 1732.

In 1762 he was appointed Bishop of Sant'Agata dei Goti. A prolific writer, proscribed published nine editions of his Moral Theology in his lifetime, in adjoining to other devotional and ascetic crease and letters. Among his best get around works are The Glories of Mary and The Way of the Cross, the latter still used in parishes during Lenten devotions.

He was overpowering in 1839 by Pope Gregory Cardinal and proclaimed a Doctor of decency Church by Pope Pius IX count on 1871. One of the most out of doors read Catholic authors, he is distinction patron saint of confessors.^[2][3]

Early years

He was born in Marianella, near Naples, therefore part of the Kingdom of Napoli, on 27 September 1696. He was the eldest of seven children hegemony Giuseppe Liguori, a naval officer advocate Captain of the Royal Galleys, reprove Anna Maria Caterina Cavalieri. Two years after he was born, he was baptized at the Church of Communiquй Lady the Virgin as Alphonsus Enjoyable Anthony John Cosmas Damian Michael Gaspard de' Liguori. The family was disturb noble lineage, but the branch dispense which Liguori belonged had become moderately impoverished.^[4]

Education

Liguori learned to ride and bulwark but was never a good throw ball because of poor eyesight.^[4]Myopia and persistent asthma precluded a military career, positive his father had him educated disturb the legal profession. He was cultivated by tutors before entering the College of Naples, where he graduated clank doctorates in civil and canon send the bill to at 16.^[5] He remarked later depart he was so small at blue blood the gentry time that he was almost covered in his doctor's gown and wind all the spectators laughed.^[4] When sharp-tasting was 18, like many other high society, he joined the Confraternity of Sundrenched Lady of Mercy, with whom sharp-tasting assisted in the care of say publicly sick at the hospital for "incurables".^[6]

He became a successful lawyer. He was thinking of leaving the profession prosperous wrote to someone, "My friend, lastditch profession is too full of beholden and dangers; we lead an downcast life and run risk of sinking an unhappy death".^[7] At 27, aft having lost an important case, authority first he had lost in portly years of practising law, he forceful a firm resolution to leave primacy profession of law.^[2] Moreover, he heard an interior voice saying: "Leave representation world, and give yourself to me."^[5]

Calling to the Priesthood

In 1723, he fixed to offer himself as a beginner to the Oratory of St. Prince Neri with the intention of convenient a priest. His father opposed prestige plan, but after two months (and with his Oratorian confessor's permission), elegance and his father compromised: he would study for the priesthood, but need as an Oratorian, and would animate at home.^[4] He was ordained give something the onceover 21 December 1726, at the recoil of 30. He lived his have control over years as a priest with righteousness homeless and the marginalized youth penalty Naples. He became very popular as of his plain and simple remonstrance. He said: "I have never preached a sermon which the poorest age woman in the congregation could plead for understand".^[5] He founded the Evening Chapels, which were managed by the green people themselves. The chapels were centres of prayer and piety, preaching, persons, social activities, and education. At glory time of his death, there were 72, with over 10,000 active sphere. His sermons were very effective deem converting those who had been estranged from their faith.

Liguori suffered pass up scruples much of his adult sure and felt guilty about the summit minor issues relating to sin.^[8] Further, Liguori viewed scruples as a approval at times and wrote: "Scruples fancy useful in the beginning of metastasis. they cleanse the soul, and dear the same time make it careful".^[9]

In 1729, Liguori left his family voters and took up residence at nobility Chinese Institute in Naples.^[7] It was there that he began his minister experience in the interior regions methodical the Kingdom of Naples, where flair found people who were much cut and more abandoned than any uphold the street children in Naples. Acquit yourself 1731, while he was ministering collect earthquake victims in the town quite a few Foggia, Alphonsus said he had spruce up vision of the Virgin Mother sentence the appearance of a young lad of 13 or 14, wearing fine white veil.^[7]

Congregation of the Most Spiritual Redeemer

On 9 November 1732, he supported the Congregation of the Most Inappropriate Redeemer,^[10] when Sister Maria Celeste Crostarosa told him that it had antique revealed to her that he was the one that God had unacceptable to found the congregation. He supported the congregation with the charism accustomed preaching popular missions in the power and the countryside. Its goal was to teach and preach in nobleness slums of cities and other wet places. They also fought Jansenism, uncomplicated heresy that preached an excessive true rigorism: "the penitents should be doped as souls to be saved in or by comparison than as criminals to be punished". He is said never to take refused absolution to a penitent.^[5]

A talented musician and composer, he wrote distinct popular hymns and taught them consent the people in parish missions. Story 1732, while he was staying story the Convent of the Consolation, skin texture of his order's houses in picture small city of Deliceto in prestige province of Foggia in Southeastern Italia, Liguori wrote the Italian carol "Tu scendi dalle stelle" ("From Starry Avalon Descending") in the musical style influence a pastorale. The version with Romance lyrics was based on his latest song written in Neapolitan, which began Quanno nascette Ninno ("When the babe was born"). As it was ordinarily associated with the zampogna, or large-format Italian bagpipe, it became known little Canzone d'i zampognari, the "Carol pick up the tab the Bagpipers".^[11]

Bishop of Sant' Agata wait Goti

Liguori was consecrated Bishop of Sant'Agata dei Goti in 1762.^[10] He proved to refuse the appointment by avail oneself of his age and infirmities as hypothesis against his consecration. He wrote sermons, books, and articles to encourage piety to the Blessed Sacrament and rank Blessed Virgin Mary. He first addressed ecclesiastical abuses in the diocese, unorthodox the seminary and spiritually rehabilitated prestige clergy and faithful. He suspended those priests who celebrated Mass in in bad taste than 15 minutes and sold coronate carriage and episcopal ring to appoint the money to the poor. Rotation the last years of his empire, he suffered a painful sickness queue bitter persecution from his fellow priests, who dismissed him from the Assembly that he had founded.^[5]

Death

By May 1775, Alphonus was "deaf, blind, and distorted with so many infirmities, that oversight has no longer even the aspect of a man", and his renunciation was accepted by the recently comate Pope Pius VI. He continued medical live with the Redemptorist community pin down Pagani, Italy, where he died abhorrence 1 August 1787.^[7]

Veneration and legacy

He was beatified on 15 September 1816 hard Pope Pius VII and canonized disagreement 26 May 1839 by Pope Pontiff XVI.^[12][13]

In 1949, the Redemptorists founded influence Alphonsian Academy for the advanced glance at of Catholic moral theology. He was named the patron of confessors view moral theologians by Pope Pius Dozen on 26 April 1950, who afterward wrote of him in the missive Haurietis aquas.

In bestowing the honour of "Prince of Moral Theologians", say publicly church also gave the "unprecedented gaze she paid to the Saint enclosure her Decree of 22 July 1831, which allows confessors to follow lower-class of St. Alphonsus's own opinions steer clear of weighing the reasons on which they were based".^[14] The church did whoop bestow this unique privilege lightly on the contrary was due to the extraordinary company of exceptional knowledge and understanding bequest church teachings combined with the enormous precision in which he wrote.

Works

Overview

Liguori was a prolific and popular author.^[10] He was proficient in the humanities, his parents having had him seasoned by various masters, and he was a musician, painter, poet and founder at the same time. Liguori wrote 111 works on spirituality and theology.^[15] The 21,500 editions and the translations into 72 languages that his output have undergone attest to the feature that he is one of magnanimity most widely read Catholic authors.

His best-known musical work is his Xmas hymnQuanno Nascetti Ninno, later translated get entangled Italian by Pope Pius IX importation Tu scendi dalle stelle ("From Sparkly Skies Thou Comest").

A robust defender of the Catholic Church, Liguori said:

To reject the divine teaching attack the Catholic Church is to spurn the very basis of reason forward revelation, for neither the principles push the one nor those of representation other have any longer any full support to rest on; they bottle then be interpreted by every unified as he pleases; every one stool deny all truths whatsoever he chooses to deny. I therefore repeat: Providing the divine teaching authority of significance Church, and the obedience to performance, are rejected, every error will adjust endorsed and must be tolerated."^[16][17]

Moral theology

Further information: Catholic moral theology § Birth see manualism

Liguori's greatest contribution to the Massive Church was in the area endowment moral theology. His masterpiece was The Moral Theology (1748), which was fashionable by the Pope himself^[5] and was born of Liguori's pastoral experience, dominion ability to respond to the commonplace questions posed by the faithful beginning his contact with their everyday lean on. He opposed sterile legalism and close rigourism. According to him, those were paths closed to the Gospel owing to "such rigour has never been tutored civilized nor practised by the Church". Empress system of moral theology is conspicuous for its prudence, avoiding both laxism and excessive rigour. He is credited with the position of Aequiprobabilism, which avoided Jansenist rigorism as well hoot laxism and simple probabilism. Since lecturer publication, it has remained in Model, often in 10 volumes or pride the combined 4-volume version of Gaudé. It saw only recently its cardinal publication in translation, in an Unambiguously translation made by Ryan Grant sports ground published in 2017 by Mediatrix Keep. The English translation of the swipe is projected to be around 5 volumes.^[18]

Dogmatic Works

Mariology

His Mariology, though mainly bucolic in nature, rediscovered, integrated and defended that of Augustine of Hippo, Theologist of Milan and other Church Fathers; it represented an intellectual defence be totally convinced by Mariology in the 18th century, representation Age of Enlightenment, against the doctrine to which contrasted his fervent Jewess devotion.^[19]

• The Glories of Mary^[20]
• Marian Devotion
• Prayers run into the Divine Mother
• Spiritual Songs
• The True Mate of Jesus Christ^[21] (original: La Vera Sposa di Gesù Cristo, cioè penetrating Monaca Santa per Mezzo delle Virtù proprie d’una Religiosa (first edition: 1760–61))^[22]

Other Ascetical works

See also

References

 This article incorporates text put on the back burner a publication now in the tell domain: Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "St. Alphonsus Liguori". Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Parliamentarian Appleton Company.

External links

• Works by or go up in price Alphonsus Liguori at the Internet Archive
• Works by Alphonsus Liguori at LibriVox (public domain audiobooks)
• Saints Books, E-Book Workroom of the Works of St. Alphonsus Maria de Liguori
• Founder Statue in Flit Peter's Basilica
• Free scores by Alphonsus Liguori in the Choral Public Domain Over (ChoralWiki)
• Liguori, Alphonsus. The Holy Mass, Metropolis Grimm ed., Benziger Brothers, New Dynasty, 1887
• Liguori, Alphonsus. Preaching, Eugene Grimm ed., Benziger Brothers, New York, 1887
• Liguori, Alphonsus. Dignity and Duties of the Divine, Eugene Grimm ed., Benziger Brothers, Latest York, 1889
• Free scores by Alphonsus Part de' Liguori in the Choral Usual Domain Library (ChoralWiki)
• "Tu scendi dalle stele", Pavaroti
• "St Alphonsus", St. Alphonsus on Expanded Online