Saint Philip Neri: The Apostle of Joy

To a Rome ravaged by war and wearied by the decadence of the Renaissance popes, Saint Philip Neri came as an unlikely reformer. Mystic, hermit, prankster, and effortless leader of men, Neri had a great sense of humor and an even greater heart. His creative response to the challenge of the reformation era made him the Apostle of Rome.

Baptism in the Spirit in the Catacombs. After he arrived in Rome from his native Florence, Philip dedicated himself to tutoring by day, but loved to sleep and pray in the ancient catacombs of Rome, the burial places of countless Christians. Particularly dear to him was the Catacomb of St. Sebastian on the Appian Way. On June 5 in the year 1544, after 10 years of relatively fruitless efforts at evangelization of the demoralized youth of Rome, it was in the catacombs that he was baptized — immersed — in the Holy Spirit, on the Vigil of Pentecost. It was pitch black; Philip was in intense prayer to the Holy Spirit when a ball of fire appeared to him, coming toward him, entered his mouth and settled in his heart
https://www.anewpentecost.com/1135-2/

St. Philip Neri, pray for us.

Feast Day - May 26