Born Arthur Phillips on June 8, 1908 in Hoboken, New Jersey he was the son of Thomas Phillips and Mary Finn. He went to St. Lawrence Parochial School in Weehawken, New Jersey and completed high school at Our Lady of Grace High School in Hoboken. After high school he entered Holy Cross Preparatory Seminary, Dunkirk, New York in 1929. In 1931 he entered the Passionist novitiate at West Springfield, Massachusetts where he professed his vows on August 15, 1931. After being educated at the various Passionist monasteries he was ordained on May 30, 1938 by Auxiliary Bishop Francis Spellman of New York.
In 1942 he was appointed to teach Canon Law to Senior Passionist theologians. In 1946 he was relieved of the assignment and began to preach missions and retreats. Over the years he preached over 500 retreats. In 1951 he suffered a series of heart attacks. His health did not deter him from writing several pamphlets on Passionist spirituality. He even put some of his talks on long-playing records. This was a new medium at the time. Tapes were made of these talks and distributed to various religious communities. He raised money from benefactors to cover the cost of this venture. His tapes are found in the Library edited by the Carmelite Fathers and called “Conference a Month Club.” His last years were spent at St. Gabriel’s Monastery, Brighton, Massachusetts and his final place of care was at St. Joseph Nursing Home at Brockton, Massachusetts which was operated by the Sisters of Jesus Crucified. He was buried from Union City.