Philip Neri

Timeline

1. 1515–1533Florence · TuscanyBorn in Florence to a merchant family of no great distinction, raised with devout education. Around the age of eighteen he moved to Rome, first working for relatives while studying philosophy and theology, living a simple and ascetic life that laid the foundation for his later pastoral work.
2. 1551–1564Rome · LazioAround 1551 he gave up trade to devote himself fully to street preaching and the instruction of youth in Rome, often working in forums, hospitals, and poor districts. In 1558 he founded a house of spiritual exercises beside the church of Saint Jerome, guiding citizens to prayer and confession in a popular manner, attracting many Roman youths and artisans.
3. 1551–1575Rome · LazioOrdained priest on 23 May 1551, he continued to organize prayer groups outside the monastic form. In 1575 Pope Gregory XIII formally approved the statutes of the Oratory, establishing a religious model centered on common prayer, preaching, and musical worship; Neri refused high ecclesiastical office all his life.
4. 1575–1595Rome · LazioIn his later years he still lived around the church of San Filippo Neri in Rome, known for his humor and humility and deeply beloved by the Roman people. He died on 26 May 1595 and was canonized in 1622 together with Ignatius of Loyola and others, honored as the Apostle of Rome and patron saint of the Oratory.