Alphonsus Liguori

Life events

1. Born — 1696

   Alphonsus Maria de Liguori was born on 27 September 1696 in Marianella, near Naples, then part of the Kingdom of Naples, the eldest of seven children of Giuseppe Liguori, a naval officer and Captain of the Royal Galleys, and Anna Maria Caterina Cavalieri.

2. Baptized — 1696

   Two days after his birth, he was baptised at the Church of Our Lady the Virgin under the full name Alphonsus Mary Anthony John Cosmas Damian Michael Gaspard de' Liguori.

3. Educated — 1712

   After tutored schooling, Liguori entered the University of Naples and graduated with a doctorate in both civil and canon law at age 16; myopia and chronic asthma had precluded a military career, so his father directed him toward the legal profession.

4. Ordained — 1726

   After abandoning a successful legal career following the loss of his first case in 1723, Liguori was ordained a priest on 21 December 1726 at the age of 30, having reached a compromise with his father to study for the priesthood while living at home rather than entering the Oratory of St. Philip Neri.

5. Other — 1732

   On 9 November 1732, Liguori founded the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer (Redemptorists) after Sister Maria Celeste Crostarosa reported a revelation that he was chosen to found the congregation; its charism was preaching popular missions among the rural poor and in city slums.

6. Wrote — 1748

   Liguori published his Moral Theology in 1748, a work approved by the Pope and grounded in pastoral experience; he published nine editions in his lifetime, and the work advanced the system of Aequiprobabilism, which steered between Jansenist rigorism and moral laxism.

7. Consecrated — 1762

   In 1762, despite attempting to refuse the appointment on grounds of age and infirmity, Liguori was consecrated Bishop of Sant'Agata dei Goti, where he reformed the seminary, addressed ecclesiastical abuses, suspended priests who rushed Mass, and sold his carriage and episcopal ring to fund relief for the poor.

8. Died — 1787

   Liguori died on 1 August 1787 at the Redemptorist community in Pagani, Italy; his resignation as bishop had been accepted by Pope Pius VI in May 1775 after he was described as deaf, blind, and laden with infirmities. His remains are now displayed in the parochial church in Pagani.

Relationships

Documented claims

• Liguori founded the Evening Chapels in Naples, centres of prayer, preaching, community, and education managed by the young people themselves; by his death, 72 chapels served over 10,000 active participants. (likely)
• In 1732 at the Convent of the Consolation in Deliceto, Liguori composed the Christmas carol 'Tu scendi dalle stelle' ('From Starry Skies Descending'), originally written in Neapolitan as Quanno nascette Ninno in the musical style of a pastorale. (certain)
• Beatified on 15 September 1816 by Pope Pius VII, canonised on 26 May 1839 by Pope Gregory XVI, proclaimed a Doctor of the Church by Pope Pius IX in 1871, and named patron of confessors and moral theologians by Pope Pius XII on 26 April 1950. (certain)
• Liguori authored 111 works on spirituality and theology, which appeared in approximately 21,500 editions and were translated into 72 languages, making him one of the most widely published Catholic authors. (likely)
• Liguori earned a doctorate in civil and canon law from the University of Naples at age 16, practised law successfully for eight years, then abandoned the profession in 1723 after losing his first case — an event he later described as accompanied by an interior voice calling him to leave the world. (likely)