San Alfonso Maria de Ligorio, Redemptorist Founder, Honored on August 1

San Alfonso Maria de Ligorio was born near Naples, Italy, on 27 September 1696 into a noble family. He earned doctorates in civil and canon law at age 16 and practiced as a lawyer before a perceived injustice prompted him to abandon the courts and pursue the priesthood. He was ordained in 1726 and devoted himself to missionary work among the poor of Naples, establishing evening chapels for workers.

In 1732 he founded the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer (the Redemptorists) to evangelize remote rural areas. He was appointed bishop of Santa Águeda in 1762, a post he held for thirteen years before resigning due to ill health. He died on 1 August 1787 at the age of 90‑91. The Church beatified him on 15 September 1815 (Pope Pius VII), canonized him on 26 May 1839 (Pope Gregory XVI), and declared him a Doctor of the Church on 7 July 1871 (Pope Pius IX). He left a prolific literary legacy of 111 printed works and thousands of manuscripts.