2023-08-23 02:00:00
In 1267, by unanimous vote, Philip was elected Prior General of the Servites. As his first task, he visited the Order’s convents located in northern Italy, inviting everyone to convert and submit to the protection of the Mother of God. Some time later, San Felipe would start another round of visits to the convents in Germany and France.
Refusal to the papacy and suspension of his Order
In 1269, during the conclave of Viterbo, assembled to elect a successor to Pope Clement IV, Benizi’s name circulated strongly as a probable Pope. Philip, who knew of his frailties, did not consider himself worthy of such a position, so he fled the city and took refuge in a cave (the famous Grotta di San Filippo Benizi) on Mount Amiata. In 1274 he intervened in the second Council of Lyon which, following the guidelines of the IV Lateran Council, prohibited the founding of new religious orders and suppressed mendicant orders that had not yet been approved by the Holy See.
In 1276 Pope Innocent V declared his Order abolished. Philip then went to Rome, but before his arrival, Pope Innocent died. The reestablishment of the Order would just arrive with Pope John XXI. From then on, a renaissance of the Servites would begin.
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