Philip Benizi de Damiani

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Saint Philip Benizi

Confessor
Born	August 15, 1233
Died	August 23, 1285
Venerated in	Roman Catholic Church
Beatified	October 8, 1645
Canonized	April 12, 1671
Major shrine	N/A
Feast	August 23
Attributes	Habit of the Servite Order
Patronage	Patron of minor basilica in Monte Senario in the diocese of Florence; Zamboanga del Norte, Philippines

Saint Philip Benizi de Damiani (sometimes Philip Benitius; (Spanish) Felipe Benicio; (Czech) Filipa Benicia) (August 15, 1233—August 22, 1285) was a general superior of the Servites.

1 Biography
2 Veneration
3 Catholic church
4 Cultural references
5 Gallery
6 Sources and references

[edit] Biography

Philip Benizi was born on 15 August in the Florentine district of Oltrarno, the day the Blessed Virgin first appreared to the Seven Founders, and afterwards became the great propagator of the order of Servants of Mary (the Servites). When he was elected general superior on 5 June, 1267, the order, which had long been the object of unjust attack from jealous 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 suppressed all mendicant institutions not yet approved by the Holy See. The aggressors renewed their assaults, and in the year 1276 Pope Innocent V in a letter to St. Philip declared the order suppressed. Philip proceeded to Rome, but before his arrival there Innocent V had died.

He died in 1285 at Todi, where he is buried.

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

Filippo Lippi, Presentation of the Temple, with Benizi on the left and St. Pellegrino Laziosi (Latiosi) on the right.

[edit] Veneration

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

His liturgical feast is on August 23. He and Santa Maria Addolorata are titular co-patrons of a minor basilica in Monte Senario in the diocese of Florence (since 1917).

[edit] Catholic church

In Jonesboro, GA, United States, a Catholic church named after Benizi was established by the Archdiocese of Atlanta in 1965. It is located on Flint River Road, and has been holding Mass since on April 30, 1967.

[edit] 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. 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.[1]

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