Feast: August 23 (Traditional Calendar)
St. Philip Benizi was born in Florence in the year 1233, of the noble family of Benizi. Even from his infancy, he gave signs of extraordinary grace and virtue. As a young man, he pursued studies in medicine and philosophy, but he soon discerned that God called him not to heal the body but to cure souls.
In 1254, on the Feast of the Annunciation, he entered the newly founded Order of the Servants of Mary (the Servites), which had sprung up only two decades earlier under the inspiration of the Blessed Virgin. There, Philip embraced a life of humility and penance. Although endowed with great natural gifts, he sought the lowest place in the community, preferring obscurity to honor. His obedience and devotion were so profound that he was chosen, against his own inclination, to govern the Order as Prior General.
Philip worked tirelessly to spread devotion to the Sorrows of the Blessed Virgin Mary, fostering in the faithful a deep compassion for the Mother of God at the foot of the Cross. His zeal and charity extended beyond Italy: he preached penance and reconciliation in many places, even reconciling fierce enmities among rival cities and families. His sanctity was so widely acknowledged that, during the vacancy of the Papal See in 1268, some cardinals desired to elect him Supreme Pontiff. Out of humility, St. Philip withdrew and hid himself on Mount Tuniato, until the danger of election passed.
He was also remarkable for his miracles, both during his lifetime and after his death. He healed the sick, comforted the sorrowful, and was endowed with gifts of prophecy. Tradition recounts that he foretold the future greatness of St. Peregrine Laziosi, then a young man, who would later enter the Servite Order and become renowned as a wonderworker against cancer.
After a life of prayer, austerity, and works of mercy, St. Philip died on August 22, 1285, at Todi in Umbria, while uttering the words of the Gloria Patri. His body was found incorrupt many years later. He was canonized by Clement X in 1671.
Legacy and Devotion
St. Philip is honored as a model of humility, penance, and devotion to Our Lady’s Sorrows. His life shows the power of meekness and the hidden life, for though he fled honors, God raised him up as a light in His Church.
- Patronage: The Servite Order, and he is invoked especially for reconciliation and peace.
- Iconography: He is often depicted in the black habit of the Servites, with a lily (purity), a crucifix, or in scenes venerating Our Lady of Sorrows.
🙏 Prayer to St. Philip Benizi
“O God, Who didst vouchsafe to attract blessed Philip, Thy Confessor, to the order of Thy Servants by the special love of the Mother of Thy Son: grant, we beseech Thee, that by the intercession of both, we may be made worthy of Thy grace and glory. Through the same Christ our Lord. Amen.”