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St. Alphonsus Liguori
St. Alphonsus was born into the noble house of Liguori
in 1696. Well educated and talented from an early age, he
studied law at the University of Naples and received his
doctorate when he was only sixteen. He earned success
as a lawyer, eventually becoming one of the leaders of the
Neapolitan Bar. A turning point came in Alphonsus’s
life, however, when he overlooked a point in a case that
rendered his entire argument unsound. Crushed and
humiliated by this mistake, he abandoned the practice
of law, never to return. This incident showed the young
lawyer the vanity and folly of worldly affairs, and he resolved
to dedicate his life entirely to God.
Despite his father’s bitter opposition, Alphonsus
entered the priesthood and was ordained in 1726. In
1732, he founded the Congregation of the Most Holy
Redeemer, also known as the Redemptorists. He was
made a bishop in 1762.
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