LETTER FROM ROME

It seems reasonable to suggest that the founding of the Oratories at Birmingham and London helped to establish knowledge of, and devotion to, St Philip Neri in England. As a result, in the English mind, St Philip is principally (and perhaps exclusively) associated with his work of founding the Oratory. It is related though that St Philip never wished to found the Oratory, and himself admitted that it was not he who had founded it, but Our Lady.

In Rome however, devotion to St Philip has been widespread since well before his canonisation. Even today those privileged enough to be allowed to walk through the Roman streets in the Habit of St Philip ought not to be surprised should they be recognised by the collar and greeted with humbling affection: Buongiorno San Filippo! – Good morning St Philip!

St Philip’s work in Rome was not limited to the Oratory. There is another institution (so far as I can tell only to be found in Rome) associated with him, and which he did intend to found. Whilst he was still a layman, and before the Oratory had had its first beginnings, he founded the Archconfraternity of the Most Holy Trinity of the Pilgrims – Santissima Trinità dei Pellegrini.

Fr Persiano Rosa was St Philip’s confessor and the man who suggested and sponsored St Philip’s path to the priesthood. Together the two of them gathered a group of twelve laymen. They spoke freely and fervently about spiritual matters, encouraged each other in their pursuit of holiness and received the sacraments on a regular basis. St Philip seems to have been the heart of it and always claimed to be the founder and he is officially recognised as such, the Confraternity badge claiming St Philip as the Auctor.

This private association was canonically erected in 1548 and given the work of looking after the needs, both material and spiritual, of the pilgrims who came to Rome. The Holy Years of 1550, 1575, 1600 saw a huge influx of pilgrims whom the Confraternity looked after, firstly in simple accommodation they were lent, and then in quarters provided them by the Pope as their work grew. They adopted a red habit to indicate the fire of charity which drove their work and wore hoods to hide their faces in order to gain humility. They washed the feet of the pilgrims, fed them and welcomed them as Christ. In the London Oratory church there is a relief scene of St Philip doing just this, above and to the right of his altar.

Under St Philip’s guidance they were the first to introduce the devotion of the Forty Hours to Rome in 1551 – the year St Philip became a priest – and maintained this devotion in the first week of every month in a church they had been given near the Campo dei Fiori, with St Philip preaching at it to great effect.

Finally they built their own church, which the St Philip himself would have known, as it was started eight years before he died and completed 2 years afterwards. The church is called the Most Holy Trinity of the Pilgrims and can certainly be called a Philippine church. The painting of the Trinity at the High Altar is by Guido Reni, who painted the famous image of St Philip of which we have a copy at St Philip’s altar in London, and there is a lovely side chapel of St Philip. The sacristy contains reliquary busts and paintings of St Philip and the Confraternity badge consists in a picture of St Philip leading the Brothers in adoration of the Holy Trinity. Sadly, even though the Confraternity still exists, this church has seemingly been closed for the last number of years, only accessible to those who are lucky enough to pass when the doors happen to open, as they occasionally do.

When they arrive in Rome, people often ask where the best place to go for a ‘good’ Mass is. By this, frequenters of the London Oratory, and others, tend to mean a solemn Latin Mass with good music and preferably ad orientem. It’s not so easy to offer suggestions. St Peter’s does have a Latin Mass on Sunday at 10:30am (not a Papal Mass), St Mary Major’s has one at 10am on Sundays with polyphony, and the Roman Oratory church, the Chiesa Nuova, offers Mass in Italian with Gregorian chant and polyphony at 11am. Of course on certain solemn feasts individual churches may pull out the stops, but whilst all of these Masses offer some of the desired liturgical elements, the objection seems to be that none manage to pull them together organically.

Of course the Holy Father published last year the Motu Proprio, Summorum Pontificum, granting full liberty to the Older form of the Roman Rite, and indicated that personal parishes could be set up for those attached to this form.

It ought not to be surprising then that the Pope’s own diocese of Rome is about to erect such a personal parish. We can be delighted that the church of the Santissima Trinità dei Pellegrini has been selected as the seat of this personal parish, and that the Australian Father who will be made its parish priest has a great devotion to St Philip, the Oratory, and the fine musical and liturgical tradition that came from them. Until now he has been ministering in the tiny church of San Gregorio ai Muratori and had introduced a high standard of music every week with the most limited of resources. The Confraternity in their red habits are excited that they will recommence their traditional practice of the Forty Hours, and there is no doubt that Santissima Trinità will again be open every day. Anyone who visits ought to ask one of the clergy there to be shown those things that relate to St Philip, and anyone who wants a ‘good’ Mass in the centre of Rome will need look no further.

Santissima Trinità dei Pellegrini is located on Via dei Pettinari near Piazza Farnese and Campo dei Fiori.

On going to press the date for the finalisation of the erection of the personal parish has not been set though the area-bishop in charge has spoken publicly about it. Christmas had been celebrated there in 2007 and the Holy Week and Easter services were about to be sung there according to the classical Roman Rite. It looks likely that by the end of this month or in May all the paperwork will have been finalised.