March 30, 2011. Benedict
XVI dedicated his catechesis during the
general audience to
St. Alphonsus Liguori, the
patron
of confessors and moralists. St. Alphonsus Liguori was a doctor of civil and canon law but abandoned his promising career as a lawyer to become a priest. Pope Pius IX appointed him as a Doctor of the Church.
Benedict
XVI“
Alphonsus'
pastoral zeal also found expression in his moral teaching, which
emphasized divine mercy and the relationship between God's law and
our deepest human needs and aspirations.”
St.
Alphonsus Liguori founded the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer
in 1732, also known as Redemptorists. It currently has over
5,000
members and
is active in
78 countries. The Pope described them
as
“genuine
itinerant
missionaries.”
Benedict
XVI“
He
began as a missionary among the urban poor, gathering small groups
for prayer and instruction in the faith. Broadening his pastoral
outreach, he founded the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer.”
St.
Alphonsus Liguori was a doctor of civil and canon law but abandoned
his
promising career as a lawyer to
become a
priest. Pope Pius IX appointed him as
a Doctor
of the Church.
Benedict
XVI“
May
this great Doctor of the Church, venerated also as the patron of
moral theologians, help us to respond ever more fully to God's call
to grow in holiness, and inspire in priests, religious and laity a
firm commitment to the new evangelization.”
The
general audience was
held
in a sunny St. Peter's Square and welcomed more than 10,000 people.
BR/AE
CTV
JM
BN
