Philip Neri, (1515 – 25 May 1595), was an Italian priest noted for founding a society of secular clergy called the Congregation of the Oratory.

At the age of 18, after a religious conversion, he moved from Florence to Rome. He started to study, and began the labours among the sick and poor which, in later life, gained him the title of “Apostle of Rome”. He founded a Confraternity to minister to the needs of the poor pilgrims who flocked to Rome, and the poor and weak patients discharged from hospitals.

At 36 he was ordained priest, and settled at the Hospital and church of San Girolamo della Carità. In 1556, he founded the Oratory, but the plan at first was no more than a series of evening meetings in a hall (the Oratory), at which there were prayers, hymns, and readings, followed by a lecture, or discussion of some religious question. The musical selections were called oratorios. The members of the society undertook missionary work throughout Rome, such as the preaching of sermons in different churches, a completely new idea at that time. He spent much of his time hearing confessions, and gaining many conversions.

They moved to the parish of Santa Maria in Vallicella, where they built a larger church. Here Neri formally organized his community of secular priests, the Congregation of the Oratory. The congregation is unusual as the members live in community, but there are no vows. Each takes his turn in all the tasks and pays his own expenses.

St Philip Neri combined popularity with piety, against the background of a corrupt Rome and an uninterested clergy. He was ready to meet the needs of his day in a way which even the Jesuits could not match. He was a mystic, who sought God by helping his neighbour. He died 25 May 1595, and was canonized in 1622. The Oratory spread through Italy and France, and later other countries. They reached Britain in the 19th century with Blessed John Henry Newman, starting at Birmingham and later Brompton in London. Now they are in Oxford, Manchester and York, most recently in Bournemouth and now – Cardiff.

Fr Matthew (with a little help from Wikipedia)