St. Philip Neri
Patron Saint of Rome and Humor
St. Philip Neri dreamed of becoming a missionary, but found that his mission territory was the city of Rome in the 1500s during the Counter Reformation. He became a priest in 1551 and would spend hours in the confessional, in addition to his missionary work. Philip founded the Congregation of the Oratory, also known as the Oratorians, which started as a group to help weed out corruption in the Church. Philip was well-known for his combination of cheerfulness/humor with personal piety. “Cheerfulness strengthens the heart and helps us to persevere. A servant of God ought always to be in good spirits. Charity and cheerfulness, or charity and humility, should be our motto.” -St. Philip Neri