His apostolic zeal knew no limits: he preached missions and aided his friend Liguori in his work; he tended to the sick and helped to get girls out of prostitution despite the threats levelled against him.

[1] In 1716 he desired to become a Jesuit but his father objected due to his age and directed him to learn law instead; the beatification of John Francis Regis was also an influence in his decision.

[5] Sarnelli became quite successful and was enrolled in the Congregation of the Knights of the Legal and Medical Professions directed by the Pious Workers of Saint Nicholas of Toledo.

[2] In September 1728 he abandoned the bar and decided to become a priest after commencing his ecclesial studies; Cardinal Francesco Pignatelli incardinated him as a cleric to the parish of Santa Anna di Palazzo.

On 4 June 1729 he became a boarder at the Collegio della Santa Famiglia to continue his studies under more peaceful conditions though left on 8 April 1730 to enter the novitiate of the Congregation of the Apostolic Missions.

Cardinal Pignatelli assigned him to serve as the Director of Religious Instruction in the parish of Saints Francis and Matthew in the Spanish quarter.

In June 1733 he travelled to Scala to aid a friend at a mission at Ravello and he met up with and became one of the earliest companions to Liguori in founding the Redemptorists which he joined in 1733.

Pope John Paul II issued his approval to this miracle on 12 January 1996 and beatified Sarnelli in Saint Peter's Square on 12 May 1996.

In his writings he pointed out that the ministers of state bore great responsibilities that could not be ignored, while the effect of his exhortations on public life aided him in his pastoral mission but also earned him praise from the faithful.

He wrote so much on this - and promoted it so much - that after his death Pope Benedict XIV issued an apostolic letter granting indulgences to meditation on 16 December 1746.

4, as follows: Not included in above is the two-volume, La via facile e sicura del Paradiso (1738) cited in St. Alphonsus Liguouri, Apparecchio alla Morte, Cons.