In 1723, he decided to offer himself as a novice to the Oratory of St.

Philip Neri
with the intention of becoming a priest. His father opposed the plan, but after two
months (and with his Oratorian confessor's permission), he and his father
compromised: he would study for the priesthood but not as an Oratorian and live at
home.[3] He was ordained on 21 December 1726, at 30. He lived his first years as a
priest with the homeless and the marginalized youth of Naples. He became very
popular because of his plain and simple preaching. He said: "I have never preached
a sermon which the poorest old woman in the congregation could not understand".[4]
He founded the Evening Chapels, which were managed by the young people themselves.
The chapels were centers of prayer and piety, preaching, community, social
activities and education. At the time of his death, there were 72, with over 10,000
active participants. His sermons were very effective at converting those who had
been alienated from their faith.

Liguori suffered from scruples much of his adult life and felt guilty about the
most minor issues relating to sin.[7] Moreover, the saint viewed scruples as a
blessing at times and wrote: "Scruples are useful in the beginning of
conversion.... they cleanse the soul, and at the same time make it careful".[8]

In 1729, Alphonsus left his family home and took up residence in the Chinese
Institute in Naples.[5] It was there that he began his missionary experience in the
interior regions of the Kingdom of Naples, where he found people who were much
poorer and more abandoned than any of the street children in Naples. In 1731, while
he was ministering to earthquake victims in the town of Foggia, Alphonsus claimed
to have had a vision of the Virgin Mother in the appearance of a young girl of 13
or 14, wearing a white veil.[5]