Seventy years before the Declaration of Independence was established San Felipe de Neri. The original church of San Felipe de Neri was started in 1706 under the direction of Fray Manuel Moreno, a Franciscan priest who came to Alburquerque [the spelling was later changed to Albuquerque] with 30 families from Bernalillo in 1704 or 1705. The church was initially named San Francisco Xavier by Don Francisco Cuervo y Valdez, who founded the city of Alburquerque and named it after the Viceroy of New Spain. The Duke of Alburquerque ordered that the titular saint be changed to San Felipe de Neri in honor of King Philip of Spain.
We visited San Felipe de Neri on his feast day – an unexpected gift from God. A God-incidence that we’re growing used to in our travels.
Philip Neri was born in Florence in the year 1515. Soon after his eighteenth birthday, he had a mystical experience which he spoke of as his “conversion,” and which radically changed his life. Phillip Neri’s life work became to fill the people of Rome with new ardor, to re-evangelize the city. On May 23, 1551, he was ordained a priest. To accommodate the increasing number of those who attended Philip’s discussions, a large room was built over the nave of San Girolamo. Several other priests were appointed to assist him. The people called them “Oratorians” because they rang a little bell to summon the faithful to prayers in their “oratory.” The actual foundation of the Congregation of the Priests of the Oratory was laid a few years later, when Philip presented five of his young followers for ordination and sent them to serve the church of San Giovanni, which had been put in his charge by fellow Florentines living in Rome.