St Alphonsus de Liguori
Alphonsus Mary Liguori was born at Marianella, a sector of Naples, on September 27, 1696. The firstborn of an aristocratic Neapolitan family, he completed his literary and scientific studies at home. He studied law and achieved his doctorate in civil and ecclesiastical law at the age of sixteen. At the age of twenty he was already known as a brilliant lawyer in the Neapolitan courts.
The turning point in his life came in 1723 with the loss of an important case. This led him to leave the Tribunal and become a priest. He was ordained on December 21, 1726. He immediately began an intense apostolate in the poor sectors of Naples with the urchins and hobos, giving himself especially to the catechesis and moral formation of the simplest people, by way of the Evening Chapels. As a member of the Apostolic Missions, he also dedicated himself to the preaching of missions in the surrounding areas of the Kingdom of Naples. At a point where his health was seriously endangered by his apostolic labors, he went for a rest to Santa Maria dei Monti in the plateau above Amalfi. There he came in contact with the poor peasants and shepherds who were totally deprived of spiritual care.
This experience gave birth, in the heart of Alphonsus, to the desire to found an institute for the evangelization of the poor, scattered in the countryside and rural villages. The Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer was born at Scala on November 9, 1732. Alphonsus, along with his first companions, went from village to village, giving all of his human and spiritual gifts for the conversion of sinners. Preaching and prayer formed the heart of his missionary activity. Where he could not reach people with the spoken word, he sought to do so through his writings. His 111 works went through many editions. The most important are: his Theologia moralis, The Great Means of Salvation, The Eternal Maxims, The Glories of Mary, and The Practice of the Love of Jesus Christ.
In 1762 he was named bishop of Santa Agata dei Goti. As bishop, Alphonsus continued his missionary fervor. He worked especially for the formation of the clergy. In 1775 he left his diocese and withdrew to Pagani, where he died on August 1, 1787, at the age of 91. He was canonized by Gregory XVI on May 26, 1839. On March 23, 1871, Pius IX declared him a Doctor of the Church and on April 26, 1950, Pius XII proclaimed him patron of Confessors and Moral Theologians.
St Clement Mary Hofbauer
He was born in Tasswitz in Moravia (Czech Republic) on December 26, 1751. In his early youth, after the death of his father, he worked as an apprentice baker. Then, having become a servant in the Premonstratensian Abbey at Klosterbruck (Znaim), he was able to follow the call to the priesthood, first by completing his secondary schooling, and then his catechetical, philosophical and theological studies in Vienna. During this time, he made yearly pilgrimages to Rome, where he encountered the Redemptorists.
On October 24, 1784, with his friend, Thaddeus Hübl, he was received by the Redemptorists. Both were professed on March 19, 1785, and ordained priests shortly after at Alatri on March 29. After a few months of study in the house of Frosinone, he returned beyond the Alps, where in his role as vicar general of the Congregation he founded the first house of the Redemptorists in Warsaw. Other houses followed in Poland, Prussia, Germany, Switzerland and Romania.
In Warsaw, where he lived from 1787 to 1808, with the collaboration of young men of various nationalities, a very fruitful apostolate was developed, promoting good works and strengthening the piety of the faithful. With the dissolution of the Redemptorists in Warsaw, after the takeover of Poland by Napoleon, he was forced to leave Warsaw and found his way to Vienna where he ministered until his death. In 1813 he was appointed rector of the church of the Ursulines and also their confessor. Through the charism of spiritual direction, preaching, confession and works of charity, he converted and helped people of every social class. Through his activity, he had an influence on the Congress of Vienna, on the culture of the time, and notably on the romantic movement. He died at Vienna on March 15, 1820. On April 19, the Emperor admitted the Congregation into the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Thanks to Father Joseph Passerat, one of Clement's first companions, the Congregation spread from Vienna throughout Northern Europe. Clement was canonized by Saint Pius X on May 20, 1909. He is co-patron of Vienna and Warsaw.
St Gerard Majella
Gerard Majella was born in Muro Lucano (Potenza) in southern Italy on April 6, 1726, in a family of humble circumstances. From his parents, Gerard learned the love of prayer and sacrifice. When his father died, Gerard, being the only boy, had to provide for his family by working as a tailor. At the age of fourteen he sought to enter the Capuchin friary but he was rejected because of his poor health. After a short time as the domestic servant of the bishop of Lacedonia, he returned to tailoring, but with low income.
In April of 1749, with utter tenacity, he succeeded in getting himself accepted by the Redemptorists who had preached a popular mission in Muro. After a trial period and a year of novitiate in the house at Deliceto, he made his religious profession on July 16, 1752. He was very observant of the rule, while at the same time going about the surrounding countryside to collect money for the material needs of the community. His presence to people, who were weighed down by poverty and illiteracy, and at the mercy of epidemics and crop failures, was seen as a sign of hope. Gerard had a deep empathy for them and gave to all a testimony to trust in the love and the compassion of God.
During his five years as a lay brother in the Congregation, he was remarkable for his apostolic zeal, his patience in sickness, his love for the poor, his deep humility in the face of false accusation, heroic obedience, his spirit of penance and his constancy in prayer. He wrote numerous letters of spiritual direction and a "Rule of Life". The Lord favored him with numerous spiritual gifts, among which were prophecy, the reading of people's hearts, and the gift of miracles. He died at Mater-domini (Avellino) on October 16, 1755. He was beatified by Leo XIII on January 29, 1893, and canonized by Pius X on December 11, 1904. Remembered among the people for his love for them, he is especially invoked as patron for mothers, particularly in time of pregnancy and for their infants.
St John Neumann
John Nepomucene Neumann was born in Prachatitz in Bohemia (Czech Republic) on March 28, 1811. He studied theology at the seminary of Budweis. Zealous for the missionary life and wanting to lead souls to Christ, he decided to leave his homeland to dedicate himself to the European immigrants in America, who were deprived of spiritual support. He was ordained a priest by the bishop of New York, and gave himself to the pastoral care of people in the vast area around Niagara Falls. Since he wanted to live in a religious community that corresponded more closely to his missionary vocation, he entered the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer, being professed on January 16, 1842.
He was a tireless missionary, busying himself in particular with the German immigrants, first in Baltimore, then in Pittsburgh. He filled the role of vice-provincial of the Redemptorists from 1846 to 1849, after which he became the parish priest of St. Alphonsus Church in Baltimore. In 1852, at the age of forty-two, he was named bishop of Philadelphia. He had a strong effect on the religious life of the United States by founding Catholic schools and promoting devotion to the Eucharist. In two years the number of students in the parochial schools went from 500 to 9000. He founded a new religious institute: the Sisters of the Third Order of St. Francis. In the brief space of seven years he built eighty-nine churches, as well as several hospitals and orphanages.
A worthy son of St. Alphonsus, like him, he made a vow never to lose a minute of time. As a bishop he was holy and tireless. Uninterruptedly he visited his vast diocese, on one occasion traveling more than twenty-five miles of mountain roads by mule in order to confirm a young boy who was sick. On January 5, 1860, he died suddenly of a heart attack on a street in Philadelphia. He was beatified during the Second Vatican Council on October 13, 1963, and was canonized on June 19, 1977. In the homily on the occasion of his canonization, Paul VI summarized the activity of the new saint in these words: "He was close to the sick, he loved to be with the poor, he was friend of sinners, and now he is the glory of all emigrants."