Saint Alphonsus Maria de Liguori

Saint Alphonsus Liguori was born in Marianella near Naples on September 27, 1696. He was the first born of a rather large family belonging to the Neapolitan nobility. His received a broad education in the humanities, classical and modern languages, painting and music. He composed a Duetto on the Passion, as well as the most popular Christmas carol in Italy, Tu Scendi Dalle Stelle, and numerous other hymns. He finished his university studies earning a Doctorate in both civil and canon law and began his practice in the legal profession.

To fulfill their mission in the Church, Redemptorists perform their missionary work as a community. For apostolic life in common paves the way most effectively for the life of pastoral charity.

– Constitutions of the Redemptorists, 21a

The cross is for Christians a sign of God’s saving love. This love was revealed in the life, death, resurrection and ascension of Jesus and his sending the Holy Spirit. The cross represents this total mystery. It is a cross not a crucifix.

The sponge is mentioned in St John’s Gospel. The Roman centurion dipped it in vinegar and offered it to Jesus. It is a sign of Christ’s thirst to gather up all humanity unto God.

The lance, also mentioned in St John’s Gospel, is for Christians a sign of the completeness of Christ’s love as blood and water poured from his side when pierced by the lance.

The three hills represent those hills that stand out in the great moments of the salvation story, Sinai, Tabor and Calvary.

The eye and the rays bursting forth represent God’s presence threaded through all creation.

The crown represents God’s reign and the new era of justice that God is ushering in.

The olive branch represents Christ’s option for humanity amidst the olive trees of Gethsemane.

The palm branch is a sign of the acclamation given Jesus as he entered into Jerusalem, and more finally, the acclamation of all creation in witnessing his resurrection.

The Redemptorist motto is “Copiosa apud eum redemptio” or “With God there is plentiful redemption” from Psalm 129:7.

– Pope John Paul II

Of further interest:

Psalm 130 is 3,000 years old and was first prayed in Hebrew. From it comes the Redemptorist motto, ‘With the Lord there is plentiful redemption’.

Redemptorists are passionate about the Gospel and equally passionate about sharing the Gospel message of God’s love for all people with all sectors of society, but especially with those who live on the edges of church and society. There is a special place in our hearts for those who feel abandoned and who have difficulty in finding their way in life.

We have inherited these passions from St Alphonsus Liguori, who founded our congregation among the poor and abandoned in the mountains of Southern Italy in 1732. St Alphonsus always emphasised divine mercy and God’s will that all should be saved.