Oratory of Saint Philip Neri

And here a little information must be given as to the primitive administration of this institution, originally half military and half monastic, to explain the new life which there awaited Lambert.

Before the Revolution, the Oratorians, devoted like the Society of Jesus to the education of youth, succeeding the Jesuits, in fact, in certain of their establishments, the colleges of Vendôme, of Tournon, of La Flèche, Pont-le-Voy, Cérez, and Joly.

That at Vendôme, like the others, I believe, turned out a certain number of cadets for the army.

The abolition of educational bodies decreed by the Convention had but little effect on the college at Vendôme.

When the first crisis had blown over, the authorities recovered possession of their buildings.

Certain Oratorians scattered about the country came back to the college and reopened it under the old rules, with the habits, practices, and customs which gave this school a character with which I have seen nothing at all comparable in any that I have visited since I left that establishment.

Standing in the heart of the town on the little river Loire, which flows under its walls, the college possesses extensive precincts, carefully enclosed by walls, and including all the buildings necessary for an institution on that scale.

A chapel, a theater, an infirmary, a bakehouse, gardens, and water supply.

To this order of resources belongs what theology calls infused science, the intellectual virtues which the divine word inspires into our minds when he dwells in us by faith and love." End quote.

And the learned Oratorian quotes with enthusiasm, excusing himself for not translating them better, these magnificent words of a saint who lived in the eleventh century in one of the mystic monasteries on the banks of the Rhine.

Quote, "This is what purifies the eye of the heart and enables it to raise itself to the true light: contempt of worldly cares, mortification of the body, contrition of heart, abundance of tears, meditation on the admirable essence of God and on his chaste truth, fervent and pure prayer, joy in God, ardent desire of heaven.

Embrace all this," adds the saint, "and continue in it.

Philip, as a simple priest, desired only to induce other priests to lead a life of perfection and aid the faithful more by their good example than by visiting the diocese, examining the clergy, and such like work.

But Charles wished the oblates to be his ministers and help him to bear the burden of his vast diocese.

I see that the ideas of the Oratorians are different from mine, Charles wrote to Monsignor Speciano.

They want their congregation to depend on themselves only, and I want everything to depend on me.

It is my object to have a body of men ready to obey me implicitly.

Philip declined to do so, and a correspondence ensued on the re-establishment of the Oratory at Milan.

Charles was annoyed at the time that Philip had taken them away when their services were most required, and sometimes half playfully remarked that Philip was a man without compassion.

Then they had differed on the subject of the rite to be used by the Oratorians in Milan, their founder insisting that they should use the Berman rite, and Charles declaring that when in Milan they should do as the Milanese did, and follow the Ambrosian rite.

The foundation for this reform was laid by the Council of Trent during the years 1545 to 1563.

Additionally, the Holy Spirit sparked a spiritual renewal of piety and personal devotion among the faithful, as well as the formation of several new religious orders, such as the Jesuits, Oratorians, Ursulines, Theatines, Barnabites, Somoski Fathers, and the Discalced Carmelites.

Among the newly formed religious orders was the Clerks Regular of the Mother of God, founded by today's saint, St. John Leonardi.

Giovanni John Leonardi was born into a middle-class family in the small town of Decimo, Republic of Lucca, modern-day Italy.

Well, on October 18th, Catholics around the world will mark World Mission Sunday, and one expert told OSV News, a renewed energy infuses the annual celebration of the church's missionary activity as it marks its 100th year.

Earlier this week, I spoke with Father Anthony Andreassi, a priest of the Oratory of St. Philip Neri in Brooklyn, New York, and a researcher for the Pontifical Mission Societies USA.

He told me there are more and more dioceses around the country that are finding innovative ways to tell the stories of missionaries and the need to support missionaries, the need to pray for missionaries.

He said the institution of World Mission Sunday in 1926 has led to a greater emphasis on the role of missionary activity as central to the church's mission, even in places where the church appears to be well-established.

They had no, uh, training.

And he, uh, developed the Oratorian school system so that those who didn't have access to education could become educated.

So I think what he could really offer today is, um, this, uh, this, uh, inspiration to fall in love with the Catholic faith and then to be able to, um, to be disciples of the faith by, uh, by, you know, sharing the faith with others, um, and to challenge people to really know their faith intellectually.

That in other words, that the intellectual, uh, component of the Catholic faith oftentimes, um, is downplayed.

He didn't want to take the vows.

He wanted to be bound by friendship.

And when he m- when he read about St. Philip Neri and the Oratorians, he said, "This is what, this is what, this is the community I want." And he, he established the Oratorians in England and brought them back.

And, um, and I think it was the fact that he had this community his whole life that he was able to get through these very difficult and dark times and setbacks, um, betrayals, you know, all kinds of things that happened during his life.