Today the Church celebrates the Feast Day of St. Philip Neri, who was born in Rome in 1515 and died in 1595 on 26th May. He was a priest and was the founder of the Oratorians.

He is well known for his humor, his gifted spiritual direction, and his habit of making a fool of himself for humility’s sake. Most famously, he once shaved half his beard off to ridicule himself, and he also kept a little dog that pompous young men would be given to walk, to edify and humble them.

There are so many wonderful quotes from his life that it is hard to choose a limited number, but we’ve collected our favorite eleven to share with you here. We hope they will inspire and encourage you. Each quote is taken from his devotional sayings and maxims.

We also highly recommend checking out this article, which gives an in-depth history of his life, as well as a beautiful and relevant reflection on what his sainthood means for us today.

Happy Feast Day!

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