Manila Archbishop Cardinal Jose Advincula will celebrate a feast mass at 10 a.m. Sunday, August 1, at the St. Alphonsus Mary de Liguori Parish in Magallanes Village, Makati City, in solemn commemoration of the Feast of Saint Alphonsus (San Alfonso) Maria de Liguori.
St. Alphonsus is a Doctor of the Church and founder of the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer, also known as the Redemptorists.
A feast mass will also be celebrated at 6 p.m. Both masses will be streamed live. At the church, about 230 persons will be allowed or 30 percent of its capacity.
Venerated as the patron saint of confessors and moralists, St. Alphonsus remains as one of the most popular Italian saints to this day. Considered as the most widely read Catholic author, the revered saint wrote several books, sermons, and religious texts to help encourage and promote devotion to the Blessed Sacrament and the Blessed Virgin Mary.
Born on September 27, 1696, he was ordained priest in 1726 and was appointed bishop of St. Agatha in 1756. He founded the Redemptorists in 1732. St. Alphonsus died in 1787 and was canonized on May 26, 1839. Because of his immense contribution to the Catholic Church, he was declared a Doctor of the Universal Church.