St Philip Neri was born 500 years ago in Florence, in the early hours of July 22. Just hours later the theological virtues of faith, hope and charity were infused into his soul in baptism.
Our Lord tells us that the Kingdom of Heaven is like a grain of mustard. The tiniest of seeds, it grows into a great tree in the branches of which the birds come and make their nests. The seed that was planted in St Philip’s heart in the famous Baptistery of St John, and which germinated and took root during his childhood in Florence, would eventually flourish into a mighty tree in Rome. His own room was the nest (he called it his nido) in which the fledgling first Oratory became the base for a mission that would earn him the title Apostle of Rome.