At a tender age his pious mother inspired him with the deepest sentiments of piety. The education he received under the auspices of his father, aided by his own intellect, produced in him such results that at the early age of sixteen he graduated in law. Shortly after, he was admitted to the Neapolitan bar. In 1723 he lost a case, and God made use of his disappointment to wean his heart from the world…he entered the ecclesiastical state. In 1726 he was ordained a priest. In 1732 God called him to found the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer, with the object of laboring for the salvation of the most abandoned souls. Amid untold difficulties and innumerable trials St. Alphonsus succeeded in establishing his Congregation, which became his glory and crown, but also his cross. The holy founder labored incessantly at the work of the missions until about 1756, he was appointed Bishop of St. Agatha, a diocese he governed until 1775. Few saints have labored as much, either by word or writing, as St. Alphonsus. He was a copious and popular author, the utility of whose works will never cease. His last years were characterized by intense suffering, which he bore with resignation, adding voluntary mortification to his other pains. His happy death occurred at Nocera de Pagani, August 1, 1787.

Lives of the Saints, pgs 296-297