Prolific spiritual writer and founder of the Redemptorists

Today we celebrate the feast of St. Alphonsus Marie Liguori (1696-1787). Alphonsus, intelligent and studious, belonged to a distinguished family. A lawyer at the age of 19 and a fair-minded man who never loses a case! One day he discovered that he had upheld —without realizing it— a cause that was not fair, and that led him to radically reconsider his life. On two occasions, he heard an interior voice saying: “Leave the world and give yourself to me”. —In 1726 he was ordained as a priest. For 30 years the missionary apostolate leads Alfonso in the most varied directions. At the same time, he deepened his choice in favor of the poor and humble. In 1762 he was appointed bishop and developed in his pastoral work an activity that seems incredible, in the double aspect of the direct ministry and the apostolate of the pen. “The Practice of love of Jesus Christ” is his main ascetic book.