He was born Filippo Giacomo Amoroso in Nicosia, Sicily on 5 November 1715,[2] about three weeks after the death of his father on October 12.

[3] At the age of 20 he asked the Guardian of the friary to speak for him to the Minister Provincial in Messina so that he could be admitted to the Order as a lay brother.

[4] This was contrary to the norms, because the fear was that young friars would find themselves distracted by family and friends, thereby stunting their spiritual growth.

He was given the job of quaestor, which involved roaming the region in the goal of collecting alms to support the friars and their work.

Called to aid the sick when a malignant epidemic was decimating the nearby town of Cerami in March 1777, he responded eagerly.

[5] For 33 years he lived under a guardian who considered it his role to sanctify Felix by subjecting him to relentless severity and fantastic humiliations, all of which he heroically endured.