Part of the Field Guide to Flying Saints

born: Marianella, sept27, 1696

died: Nocera die Pagani, aug 1, 1787

He was a lawyer who after an unsuccessful trail became a priest. When he visited a hospital he saw a strange light and the house began to shake and he heard a voice saying; 'Leave the world and give thyself to me!'

It was God.

Alphonsus became a hard liner, a moralist. As a bishop he ordered prostitutes to be buried on the garbage dump and had 'frivolous' engravings destroyed. He was always in trouble, people did not like him, he had fights with Popes and moved from one crisis to the next. When Pope Pius the 4th put and end to his career, he suffered depression, anxieties and evil temptations.

Alphonsus wore chains round his ankles and wrists and a cross full of nails on his chest and back. He would hit himself until he bled in a old cave and saw Mary appear naked before him. He wrote the most famous book on Maria ever written; 'Gloria di Maria'.

His hobbies included riding, fencing, playing cards and the opera.

Wingspan: 1,72 m

Weight (approx): 41kg

Range and distribution: Italy

Color: red and white tunic.

Special Features: a pen.