Philip Benizi de Damiani

Infobox Saint
name=Saint Philip Benizi
birth_date=birth date|1233|8|15|mf=y
death_date=death date and age|1285|8|22|1233|8|15|mf=y
feast_day=August 23
venerated_in=Roman Catholic Church


imagesize=175px
caption=
birth_place=Oltrarno, city-state of Florence, Tuscany, (modern-day Italy)
death_place=Todi, Province of Perugia, Umbria, Italy
titles=Confessor
beatified_date=October 8, 1645
beatified_place=Rome
beatified_by=Pope Innocent X
canonized_date=April 12, 1671
canonized_place=Rome
canonized_by=Pope Clement X
attributes=Habit of the Servite Order
patronage=The Minor Basilica in Monte Senario (Fiesole) in the Diocese of Florence, Tuscany, Italy; Zamboanga del Norte, Philippines
major_shrine=Church of the Servites of Mary in Todi, Umbria, Italy
suppressed_date=
issues=

Saint Philip Benizi de Damiani (sometimes St Philip Benitius, _es. Felipe Benicio, _cs. Filip Benizi) (August 15, 1233—August 22, 1285) was a General Superior of the Order of the Servites.

Biography

Philip Benizi was born on August 15 in the Florentine district of Oltrarno, the day the Blessed Virgin first appreared to the Seven Founders. He became the great propagator of the Order of the Servants of Mary (the Servites). When he was elected the General Superior on June 5, 1267, the order, which had long been the object of attack from enemies, entered into the crisis of its existence. The Second Council of Lyons in 1274 put into execution the ordinance of the Fourth Lateran Council, forbidding the foundation of new religious orders, and absolutely suppressing all mendicant institutions not yet approved by the Holy See. In the year 1276 Pope Innocent V in a letter addressed to St Philip declared the order suppressed. Philip proceeded to Rome, but before his arrival there Innocent V had died.

St Philip died on August 22, 1285 during the Octave of the Assumption at Todi, where he is buried. ["Lives of the Saints, For Every Day of the Year," edited by Rev. Hugo Hoever, S.O., Cist., Ph.D., New York: Catholic Book Publishing Co., 1952, p.332]

In the cloister of Santa Maria of the Servites in Vicenza, took place his miracles in 1319.

Veneration

The Church of the Servites of Mary in Todi, Umbria contains the body of St Philip Benizi, whose statue is the work of Bernini.

St Philip's feast day is celebrated on August 23. He and Santa Maria Addolorata are the titular co-patrons of a Minor Basilica in Monte Senario (Fiesole), Province of Florence in the Diocese of Florence (since 1917).

Churches named in honor of St Philip Benizi

*In Jonesboro, GA, United States, a Catholic church named after St Philip Benizi was erected by the Archdiocese of Atlanta, Georgia in the year 1965. It is located on Flint River Road, and Mass has been celebrated there since April 30, 1967.
*St Philip Benizi Roman Catholic Church, Chicago, Illinois (Archdiocese of Chicago).
*St Philip Benizi Catholic Church, Fullerton, California.
*St Philip Benizi Catholic Church, Oregon City, Oregon.

Cultural references

Five scenes from his life were painted in the early 16th century by the Florentine Andrea del Sarto: "His Charity to a Leper," "The Smiting of the Blasphemers," "The Cure of the Woman Possessed with a Devil," "The Resurrection of Two Children near the Tomb of the Saint," and "The Veneration of his Relics."

There is a statue of him on the Charles Bridge, in Prague, Czech Republic. Designed in 1714, this statue was made from Salzburg marble and donated by the Servites convent in Prague. The statue portrays him holding a cross, a book and a spray. By his legs there is the crown of the Pope. A clay model of this statue can be found in the Salzburg museum. [ [http://www.fotosearch.com/PDS017/rl001838/ Statue of St Philip Benizi on the Charles Bridge] ]

There is also a chapel dedicated to him in the church of San Marcello al Corso, in Rome.

Gallery

ources and references

*Catholic
* [http://saints.sqpn.com/saintp0c.htm Patron Saints Index-August 23: "Saint Philip Benizi"]
*"Lives of the Saints, For Every Day of the Year," edited by Rev. Hugo Hoever, S.O., Cist., Ph.D., New York: Catholic Book Publishing Co., 1952, 511 pp

External links

* [http://magnificat.ca/cal/engl/08-23.htm Lives of the Saints: "Saint Philip Benizi"]
* [http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/09750a.htm Catholic Encyclopedia: Servants of Mary - Order of Servites]
* [http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/13736a.htm Catholic Encyclopedia: Order of Servites]