At the Hour of Our Death

Saint Alphonsus of Liguori is the author of The Glories of Mary, an absolute best-seller which was published in 1750 (one thousand abridged editions have been printed, but only sixteen where published in Italy during his lifetime). He mainly wrote about the Virgin, but also promoted a certain spirituality, as well as popular prayers and devotions of other saints. Each chapter ends with an edifying example: usually the story of an apparition or a miracle. In total he told forty different such stories. His intention was to demonstrate the role of the Blessed Virgin in the Church and among the faithful, using facts void of a negative historical slant. On July 31, 1787, at about 6:00 pm, while he endured his final agony, Alphonsus held an image of the Blessed Virgin in his hands, which is now kept in the Redemptorists' convent in Paris, at 170, boulevard du Montparnasse. "All of a sudden we saw his face light up and become resplendent as he spoke and smiled down at the Madonna. An hour later, in the presence of three other priests, the same meeting was repeated."