Saint
Alexius
św.
Aleksy, Człowiek Boży (XVII w.). http://days.pravoslavie.ru/Images/ii134&393.htm
Saint Alexis
Légende (Ve siècle)
Ce mendiant fort populaire, dont la légende remplace l'histoire, était l'objet d'un culte populaire extraordinaire au point que le Pape Innocent XII dut déclarer le jour de sa fête, jour chômé au 17ème siècle. Fiancé contre son gré, il s'était enfui de Rome en pleine cérémonie nuptiale et s'embarqua pour la Syrie. Il gagna Edesse, mendiant sous les porches. Devant la popularité qui l'entourait, il reprit la mer. Le navire, à cause des vents contraires, le ramena à Rome. Sa fiancée lui était restée fidèle. Ni ses parents ni elle ne le reconnurent dans ce miséreux couvert de loques. Il resta dix-sept ans, dormant sous l'escalier extérieur de la maison paternelle, visitant les églises, maltraité par les esclaves qui lui jetaient des détritus. Une voix céleste révéla sa présence à l'empereur et au pape qui vinrent sous l'escalier et le trouvèrent mort, serrant un manuscrit racontant ses origines.
L'histoire est belle, trop belle peut-être, mais elle n'est pas sans fondement.
La 'Chanson de Roland' a amélioré la guerre de Charlemagne, mais Roland
existait bien ... Alors il en est sans doute ainsi pour saint Alexis.
À Rome, dans une église
située sur l'Aventin, au VIe siècle, on célèbre sous le nom de saint Alexis, un
homme de Dieu qui, selon la tradition, quitta sa maison pour se faire pauvre
et, inconnu de tous, mendia l'aumône.
Martyrologe romain
SOURCE : https://nominis.cef.fr/contenus/saint/10013/Saint-Alexis.html
SAINT ALEXIS
Confesseur, Pèlerin et
Mendiant
(+ 404)
Saint Alexis fut un rare
modèle de mépris du monde. Fils unique d'un des plus illustres sénateurs de
Rome nommé Euphémien, il reçut une éducation brillante et soignée.
L'exemple de ses parents
apprit au jeune Alexis que le meilleur usage des richesses consistait à les
partager avec les pauvres. Cédant aux désirs de sa famille, le jeune Alexis dut
choisir une épouse. Mais le jour même de ses noces, se sentant pénétré du désir
d'être uniquement à Dieu et de L'aimer sans partage, il résolut de s'enfuir
secrètement, s'embarqua sur un vaisseau qui se dirigeait vers Laodicée, et
gagna la ville d'Edesse.
Là, distribuant aux
indigents tout ce qui lui restait d'argent, il se mit à mendier son pain. Il
passait la plus grande partie de son temps à prier sous le portail du
sanctuaire de Notre-Dame d'Edesse, devant une image de la Vierge. Après
dix-sept années passées dans l'abjection et l'oubli le plus total, il plut à
Marie de glorifier Son serviteur par un éclatant miracle. Un jour, comme le
trésorier de l'église passait sous le porche, l'image de Notre-Dame s'illumina
d'une clarté soudaine. Frappé de ce merveilleux spectacle, le trésorier se
prosterna devant la Madone. La Très Sainte Vierge lui montra Alexis et lui dit:
«Allez préparer à ce pauvre un logement convenable. Je ne puis souffrir qu'un
de Mes serviteurs aussi dévoué soit délaissé de la sorte.»
La nouvelle de cette
révélation se répandit aussitôt dans la ville. L'humilité du Saint s'alarma
devant les témoignages de vénération dont il était devenu subitement l'objet.
Il quitta donc la ville d'Edesse pour se rendre à Tarse, mais une tempête
poussa l'embarquation sur les rivages d'Italie. L'Esprit-Saint lui inspira
l'idée de retourner à Rome, sa ville natale, et de mendier une petite place
dans la maison paternelle. A la requête de l'humble pèlerin, le sénateur
Euphémien consentit à le laisser habiter sous l'escalier d'entrée de son
palais, lui demandant, en reconnaissance de ce bienfait, de prier pour le
retour de son fils disparu.
Saint Alexis vécut
inconnu, pauvre et méprisé, à l'endroit même où il avait été entouré de tant
d'estime et d'honneurs. Tous les jours, il voyait couler les larmes du vieux
patricien, il entendait les soupirs d'une mère inconsolable et entrevoyait
cette noble fiancée dont la beauté s'était empreinte d'une indicible tristesse.
Malgré ce déchirant spectacle, saint Alexis eut le courage surhumain de garder
son secret et de renouveler perpétuellement son sacrifice à Dieu.
Ce Saint, plus
qu'admirable, demeura dix-sept nouvelles années dans le plus complet oubli,
vivant caché sous les marches de cet escalier que tous gravissaient pour entrer
dans une maison qui était la sienne, en sorte qu'il semblait foulé aux pieds de
tous. Avec une humilité consommée, il subit sans jamais se plaindre, les odieux
procédés et les persécutions des valets qui l'avaient servi autrefois avec tant
de respect et d'égards. Saint Alexis passa donc trente-quatre ans dans une âpre
et héroïque lutte contre lui-même. Ce temps écoulé, Dieu ordonna à Son
serviteur d'écrire son nom et de rédiger l'histoire de sa vie. Alexis comprit
qu'il allait mourir bientôt, et obéit promptement.
Le dimanche suivant, au
moment où le pape Innocent Ier célébrait la messe dans la basilique St-Pierre
de Rome, en présence de l'empereur Honorius, tout le peuple entendit une voix
mystérieuse qui partait du sanctuaire: «Cherchez l'homme de Dieu, dit la voix,
il priera pour Rome, et le Seigneur lui sera propice. Du reste, il doit mourir
vendredi prochain.»
Durant cinq jours, tous
les habitants de la ville s'épuisèrent en vaines recherches. Le vendredi
suivant, dans la même basilique, la même voix se fit entendre de nouveau au
peuple assemblé: «Le Saint est dans la maison du sénateur Euphémien.» On y
courut, et on trouva le pauvre pèlerin, qui venait de mourir. Quand le Pape eu
fait donner lecture du parchemin que le mort tenait en sa main, ce ne fut de
toutes parts, dans Rome, qu'un cri d'admiration. Innocent Ier ordonna d'exposer
le corps de saint Alexis à la basilique St-Pierre, pendant sept jours. Ses
funérailles eurent lieu au milieu d'un immense concours de peuple.
Abbé L. Jaud, Vie
des Saints pour tous les jours de l'année, Tours, Mame, 1950. -- F. Paillart,
édition 1900, p. 209-201 -- L'abbé Jouve, édition 1886, p. 87-89 -- Les
Petits Bollandistes, Paris, 1874, tome XIII, p. 403-405 -- l'Abbé J. Sabouret,
édition 1922, p. 275-277
SOURCE : http://magnificat.ca/cal/fr/saints/alexis-de-rome.html
Saint Alexis de Rome
Fête saint : 17 Juillet
Date : 404
Pape : Innocent Ier
Empereur : Arcadius ; Honorius
Pensée
Les voies extraordinaires
par lesquelles Dieu se plaît à conduire quelques âmes privilégiées sont moins
l’objet de notre imitation que de notre admiration. Mais ce que nous pouvons et
devons imiter, c’est le souverain mépris du monde et de ses vanités, qui en a
été le principe.
Pratique
Aimez à être ignoré et
méprisé.
Priez
Pour la conversion des
faux dévots.
Hagiographie
Saint Alexis fut un
rare modèle du mépris du monde. Il vivait au commencement du cinquième siècle ;
il était fils unique d’un riche sénateur de Rome, et reçut une excellente
éducation. Il apprit, par l’exemple de ses parents, qu’on ne pouvait faire un
meilleur usage de ses richesses que de les partager avec les pauvres, parce
qu’étant ainsi distribuées en aumônes, elles forment dans le ciel un trésor
pour l’éternité. La manière dont il soulageait l’indigence ajoutait un nouveau
prix à ses charités. On eût dit qu’il regardait les pauvres comme ses
bienfaiteurs, et qu’il se tenait pour obligé envers ceux qui avaient part à ses
libéralités, tant il leur montrait d’affection et de tendresse. Ses parents
voulant absolument qu’il s’engageât dans le mariage, il se rendit, par
condescendance, à leurs désirs ; mais, sans doute par une inspiration de Dieu,
le jour même de ses noces, il s’enfuit secrètement dans un pays éloigné, où il
se fixa dans le voisinage d’une église, dédiée sous l’invocation de la sainte Vierge.
Ses vertus ayant attiré sur lui l’attention, il revint à la maison de son père,
où il se présenta comme un pauvre pèlerin, et à ce titre on lui accorda un
petit logement, où il passa le reste de ses jours sans se faire connaître, ni
se plaindre des mauvais traitements qu’il essuyait quelquefois de la part des
domestiques. Ce ne fut que sur le point de rendre le dernier soupir qu’il fit
connaître à ses parents qui il était.
Jamais nous ne serons
véritablement humbles, si nous ne saisissons toutes les occasions de déraciner
de nos cœurs l’orgueil qui le tyrannise. 1° Le fatal poison de ce
vice infecte tous les états ; il se glisse dans toutes les conditions ; les
plus secrets replis de nos âmes lui servent de retraite : de tous nos ennemis,
c’est toujours le dernier vaincu. 2° Les actions les plus louables en
elles-mêmes sont souvent dénaturées par la malignité de l’amour-propre : sans
cesse il faut être en garde contre ses assauts.
Oraison
O Dieu qui nous
réjouissez par la solennité annuelle de la fête du bienheureux Alexis,
votre confesseur ; faites que nous imitions les saintes actions de celui dont
nous célébrons le triomphe au ciel. Par J.-C. N.-S. Ainsi soit-il.
Comment représente-t-on saint
Alexis ?
On le représente tenant
entre ses mains, après sa mort, un écrit qui le fit reconnaître. Le légendaire
vénitien le représente couché sous un escalier de la maison paternelle, où il
passa ses dernières années comme un pauvre inconnu. Il est quelquefois
représenté avec une pèlerine, un bourdon et le chapeau orné d’une coquille.
SOURCE : https://www.laviedessaints.com/saint-alexis/
Leçons des Matines avant 1960.
Au deuxième nocturne.
Quatrième leçon. Alexis,
Romain de très noble origine, poussé par un vif amour de Jésus-Christ, et
docile à un avertissement divin tout particulier, partit le premier soir de ses
noces laissant son épouse vierge, et entreprit à travers le monde le pèlerinage
des plus célèbres sanctuaires. Pendant ces voyages, il resta dix-sept ans
inconnu, jusqu’au jour où une image de la sainte Vierge Marie divulgua son nom.
C’était à Édesse, en Syrie. Ayant pris la mer pour s’éloigner, il aborda au
port Romain et fut reçu chez son père, à titre de pauvre étranger. Il vécut
dix-sept ans sous le toit paternel sans être connu de personne. Mais, en
mourant, il laissa par écrit, avec l’indication de son nom et de sa naissance,
le récit abrégé de toute sa vie. Il passa de la terre au ciel, sous le
Pontificat d’Innocent 1er.
Du livre des Morales de
saint Grégoire, Pape. (du commun)
Cinquième leçon. « La
simplicité du juste est tournée en dérision » [1]. La sagesse de ce monde
consiste à employer toutes sortes de ruses pour cacher le fond de son cœur, à
se servir de la parole pour déguiser sa pensée, à faire paraître vrai ce qui
est faux et faux ce qui est vrai. Cette sagesse, les jeunes gens l’acquièrent
par l’usage ; les enfants l’apprennent à prix d’argent ; ceux qui la savent
s’enorgueillissent et méprisent le reste des hommes ; ceux qui l’ignorent sont
un objet d’étonnement pour les autres, qui les regardent comme des êtres
timides et dégradés. Ils aiment cette inique duplicité sous le nom qui la
recouvre, car on qualifie d’urbanité une telle perversité d’esprit. La sagesse
mondaine enseigne à ses disciples à rechercher le faîte des honneurs, à se
réjouir, par vanité, de l’acquisition d’une gloire temporelle, à rendre
abondamment aux autres le mal qu’ils nous ont fait ; à ne jamais céder, tant
qu’ils sont assez forts pour cela, aux adversaires qui leur résistent ; mais,
si le courage leur fait défaut, à dissimuler sous des apparences de bonté et de
douceur, l’impuissance de leur malice.
Sixième leçon. La sagesse
des justes consiste, au contraire, à ne jamais agir par ostentation, à dire ce
que l’on pense, à aimer le vrai tel qu’il est, à éviter le faux, à faire le
bien gratuitement, à souffrir très volontiers des peines plutôt que d’en causer
aux autres, à ne pas tirer vengeance des injures reçues, à estimer comme un
gain l’outrage qu’on endure pour J’amour de la vérité. « Mais cette simplicité
des justes est tournée en dérision ». Car les sages de ce monde regardent la
pureté de la vertu comme une sottise. Tout ce qu’on fait innocemment, ils le
taxent de folie, tout ce que la vérité approuve dans nos œuvres paraît insensé
à cette sagesse charnelle. Rien semble-t-il, en effet, plus stupide aux yeux du
monde, que de montrer sa pensée .quand on parle, de ne rien feindre par d’habiles
expédients, de ne pas rendre des affronts pour des injures, de prier pour ceux
qui nous maudissent, de rechercher la pauvreté, d’abandonner ses biens, de ne
pas résister à ceux qui nous pillent, de présenter l’autre joue à ceux qui nous
frappent.
Au troisième nocturne.
Lecture du saint Évangile
selon saint Matthieu. Cap. 19, 27-29.
En ce temps-là : Pierre
dit à Jésus : Voici que nous avons tout quitté, et que nous vous avons suivi ;
qu’y aura-t-il donc pour nous ? Et le reste.
Homélie de saint Jérôme,
Prêtre. Lib. 3 in Matth. Cap. 19
Septième leçon. Confiance
admirable ! Pierre était pêcheur, il était loin d’être riche, il gagnait sa vie
par le travail de ses mains, et cependant il dit avec la plus grande assurance
: « Nous avons tout quitté ». Et, comme tout quitter ne suffit pas, il ajoute
ce qui est parfait : « Et nous vous avons suivi » ; nous avons fait ce que vous
avez commandé, que nous donnerez-vous en récompense ? Jésus leur répondit : «
Je vous dis en vérité que pour vous qui m’avez suivi, lorsqu’au temps de la
régénération le Fils de l’homme sera assis sur le trône de sa gloire, vous
serez aussi assis sur douze trônes et vous jugerez les douze tribus d’Israël. »
Le Sauveur ne dit pas : vous qui avez tout quitté ; car cela le philosophe
Cratès l’a fait, et une foule d’autres ont méprisé les richesses, mais il dit :
« vous qui m’avez suivi », ce qui est le propre des Apôtres et des fidèles.
Huitième leçon. Lorsqu’au
jour de la résurrection, le Fils de l’homme sera assis sur le trône de sa
gloire, quand les morts sortiront, incorruptibles désormais, de la corruption
du tombeau, vous serez, vous aussi, assis sur des trônes de juges et vous
condamnerez les douze tribus d’Israël, parce que, tandis que vous embrassiez la
foi, elles l’ont repoussée. « Et quiconque aura quitté pour moi, ou maison, ou
frères, ou sœurs, ou père, ou mère, ou femme, ou enfants, ou terres, recevra le
centuple et possédera la vie éternelle ». Ce passage concorde avec cette autre
déclaration du Sauveur : « Je ne suis pas venu apporter la paix, mais le glaive
; car je suis venu séparer le fils d’avec le père, la fille d’avec la mère, la
belle-fille d’avec la belle-mère, et l’homme aura pour ennemis ceux de sa
propre maison ». Ceux donc qui pour la foi de Jésus-Christ et la prédication de
l’Évangile, auront sacrifié toutes les affections, renoncé aux richesses et aux
plaisirs du monde, recevront le centuple et posséderont la vie éternelle.
Neuvième leçon. Certains
esprits s’appuient sur cette promesse pour imaginer une période de mille ans
après la résurrection, période pendant laquelle nous recevrions le centuple de
ce que nous avons quitté et ensuite la vie éternelle ; ils ne réfléchissent pas
que si cela paraît convenable pour la plupart des biens, il serait ridicule,
sous le rapport des femmes, que celui qui aurait quitté son épouse pour le
Seigneur, en reçoive cent dans la vie future. Voici dons le sens de cette
promesse : celui qui, pour l’amour du Sauveur aura quitté les biens charnels
recevra des biens spirituels, lesquels, par leur valeur propre et comparés aux
premiers, leur sont aussi supérieurs que le nombre cent l’est à un petit
nombre.
[1] Job. 12, 4.
Dom Guéranger, l’Année
Liturgique
S’il n’est commandé à
personne de suivre les Saints jusqu’aux extrémités où les conduit l’héroïsme de
leurs vertus, ils n’en demeurent pas moins, du haut de ces inaccessibles
sommets, les guides de ceux qui marchent par les sentiers moins laborieux de la
plaine. Comme l’aigle en présence de l’astre du jour, ils ont fixé de leur
regard puissant le Soleil de justice ; et s’enivrant de ses divines splendeurs,
ils ont vers lui dirigé leur vol bien au delà de la région des nuages sous
lesquels nos faibles yeux se réjouissent de pouvoir tempérer la lumière. Mais,
si différent que puisse être son éclat pour eux et pour nous, celle-ci ne
change pas de nature, à la condition d’être pour nous comme pour eux de
provenance authentique. Quand la débilité de notre vue nous expose à prendre de
fausses lueurs pour la vérité, considérons ces amis de Dieu ; si le courage
nous fait défaut pour les imiter en tout dans l’usage de la liberté que les
préceptes nous laissent, conformons du moins pleinement notre manière de voir à
leurs appréciations : leur vue est plus sûre, car elle porte plus loin ; et
leur sainteté n’est autre chose que la rectitude avec laquelle ils suivent sans
vaciller, jusqu’à son foyer même, le céleste rayon dont nous ne pouvons
soutenir qu’un reflet amoindri. Que surtout les feux follets de ce monde de
ténèbres [2] ne nous égarent pas au point de prétendre contrôler à leur vain
éclat les actes des Saints : l’oiseau de nuit préférera-t-il son jugement à
celui de l’aigle touchant la lumière ?
Descendant du ciel très
pur de la sainte Liturgie jusqu’aux plus humbles conditions de la vie
chrétienne, la lumière qui conduit Alexis par les sommets du plus haut
détachement se traduit pour tous dans cette conclusion que formule l’Apôtre : «
Quiconque prend femme ne pèche pas, ni non plus la vierge qu’il épouse ;
ceux-là pourtant connaîtront les tribulations de la chair, et je voudrais vous
les épargner. Voici donc ce que je dis, mes Frères : le temps est court ; en
conséquence, que ceux qui ont des épouses soient comme n’en ayant pas, et ceux
qui pleurent comme ne pleurant pas, et ceux qui se réjouissent comme ne se
réjouissant pas, et ceux qui achètent comme ne possédant pas, et ceux qui usent
de ce monde comme n’en usant point ; car la figure de ce monde passe » [3].
Elle ne passe point si
vite cependant cette face changeante du monde et de son histoire, que le
Seigneur ne se réserve toujours de montrer en sa courte durée que ses paroles à
lui ne passent jamais [4]. Cinq siècles après la mort glorieuse d’Alexis, le
Dieu éternel pour qui les distances ne sont rien dans l’espace et les temps,
lui rendait au centuple la postérité à laquelle il avait renoncé pour son
amour. Le monastère qui sur l’Aventin garde encore son nom joint à celui du
martyr Boniface, était devenu le patrimoine commun de l’Orient et de l’Occident
dans la Ville éternelle ; les deux grandes familles monastiques de Basile et de
Benoît unissaient leurs rameaux sous le toit d’Alexis ; et la semence féconde
cueillie à son tombeau par l’évêque-moine saint Adalbert engendrait à la foi
les nations du Nord.
Homme de Dieu, c’est le
nom que vous donna le ciel, ô Alexis, celui sous lequel l’Orient vous
distingue, et que Rome même a consacré par le choix de l’Épître accompagnant
aujourd’hui l’oblation du grand Sacrifice [5] ; nous y voyons en effet l’Apôtre
appliquer ce beau titre à son disciple Timothée, en lui recommandant les vertus
que vous avez si éminemment pratiquées. Titre sublime, qui nous montre la
noblesse des cieux à la portée des habitants de la terre ! Vous l’avez préféré
aux plus beaux que le monde puisse offrir. Il vous les présentait avec le
cortège de tous les bonheurs permis par Dieu à ceux qui se contentent de ne pas
l’offenser. Mais votre âme, plus grande que le monde, dédaigna ses présents
d’un jour. Au milieu de l’éclat des fêtes nuptiales, vous entendîtes ces
harmonies qui dégoûtent de la terre, que, deux siècles plus tôt, la noble
Cécile écoutait elle aussi dans un autre palais de la cité reine. Celui qui
voilant sa divinité quitta les joies de la céleste Jérusalem et n’eut pas même
où reposer sa tête [6] se révélait à votre cœur si pur [7] ; et, en même temps
que son amour, entraient en vous les sentiments qu’avait Jésus-Christ [8].
Usant de la liberté qui vous restait encore d’opter entre la vie, parfaite et
la consommation d’une union de ce monde, vous résolûtes de n’être plus
qu’étranger et pèlerin sur la terre [9], pour mériter de posséder dans la
patrie l’éternelle Sagesse [10]. O voies admirables ! ô mystérieuse direction
de cette Sagesse du Père pour tous ceux qu’a conquis son amour [11] ! On vit la
Reine des Anges applaudir à ce spectacle digne d’eux [12], et révéler aux
hommes sous le ciel d’Orient le nom illustre que leur cachaient en vous les
livrées de la sainte pauvreté. Ramené par une fuite nouvelle après dix-sept ans
dans la patrie de votre naissance, vous sûtes y demeurer par la vaillance de
votre foi comme dans une terre étrangère [13]. Sous cet escalier de la maison
paternelle aujourd’hui l’objet d’une vénération attendrie, en butte aux avanies
de vos propres esclaves, mendiant inconnu pour le père, la mère, l’épouse qui
vous pleuraient toujours, vous attendîtes dix-sept autres années, sans vous
trahir jamais, votre passage à la céleste et seule vraie patrie [14]. Aussi
Dieu s’honora-t-il lui-même d’être appelé votre Dieu [15], lorsque, au moment
de votre mort précieuse, une voix puissante retentit dans Rome, ordonnant à
tous de chercher l’Homme de Dieu.
Souvenez-vous, Alexis, que la voix ajouta au sujet de cet Homme de Dieu qui était vous-même : « Il priera pour Rome, et sera exaucé ». Priez donc pour l’illustre cité qui vous donna le jour, qui vous dut son salut sous le choc des barbares, et vous entoure maintenant de plus d’honneurs a coup sûr qu’elle n’eût fait, si vous vous étiez borné à continuer dans ses murs les traditions de vos nobles aïeux ; l’enfer se vante de l’avoir arrachée pour jamais à la puissance des successeurs de Pierre et d’Innocent : priez, et que le ciel vous exauce à nouveau contre les modernes successeurs d’Alaric. Puisse le peuple chrétien, à la lumière de vos actes sublimes, s’élever toujours plus au-dessus de la terre ; conduisez-nous sûrement par l’étroit sentier [16] à la maison du Père qui est aux cieux.
[2] Eph VI, 12.
[3] I Cor. VII, 28-31.
[4] Matth. XXIV, 33.
[5] 1 Tim, VI, 11.
[6] Matth. VIII, 20.
[7] Ibid. V, 8.
[8] Philip. II, 5.
[9] Heb. XI, 13.
[10] Prov. IV, 7.
[11] Rom. XI, 33.
[12] I Cor. IV, 9.
[13] Heb. XI. 9.
[14] Ibid. 16.
[15] Ibid.
[16] Matth. VII, 14.
Kath.
Pfarrkirche hl. Georg und Friedhof in Großklein, Steiermark - Statue hl.
Alexius.
Parish
church St. George and cemetery in Großklein, Styria - statue of saint Alexius.
Bhx cardinal
Schuster, Liber Sacramentorum
Le culte de saint Alexis
vint à Rome de l’Orient où l’Homme de Dieu, ou Mar-Risà — ainsi en effet
l’appellent les Syriens — fut l’objet d’une grande vénération. Ses Actes sont
très douteux ; et quant à la résidence de saint Alexis à Rome, il semble qu’il
s’agisse d’une adaptation de la légende importée de Syrie sur les rives du
Tibre et localisée ensuite sur le Mont Aventin par un métropolite nommé Serge
de Damas, qui s’y installa avec la permission de Benoît VII et y fonda un
monastère gréco-latin. Le phénomène d’une vie cachée, passée dans la pénitence
et les pèlerinages, et embrassée spontanément pour l’amour du Christ, n’est ni
nouveau ni rare dans les fastes de l’Église. Au siècle dernier, saint Benoît-Joseph
Labre reproduisit à Rome la vie héroïque décrite dans les Actes de saint Jean
Calybite et de saint Alexis, — si toutefois ces deux saints sont deux
personnages distincts.
L’homme de Dieu, selon la
narration syriaque primitive qui semble postérieure d’un demi-siècle à peine
aux événements, vécut à Édesse sous l’évêque Rabula (412-435). Sa sainteté fut
reconnue seulement après sa mort, mais son culte se répandit immédiatement dans
l’Orient grec, qui, nous ne savons pourquoi, donna au pèlerin anonyme le nom
d’Alexis.
Son histoire fut chantée
au IXe siècle par Joseph l’Hymnographe, et, transportée à Rome sur l’Aventin,
elle trouva un panégyriste enthousiaste en saint Adalbert, évêque de Prague,
devenu moine au monastère de Saint-Boniface.
Les Grecs célèbrent la
fête d’Alexis le 17 mars : Ἀλεξίου τοῦ άνθρώπου τοῦ Θεοῦ.
La messe est du Commun,
sauf les deux lectures. L’Évangile est celui de la fête des Abbés ; — le titre
: homme de Dieu, chez les Syriens, désigne probablement la profession
monastique du saint mendiant. Quant à l’épître (I Timot., VI, 6-12), l’Apôtre y
traite des périls qu’entraîné la possession des richesses. Tel un hydropique
altéré, plus le riche possède, plus il veut posséder. Il n’a jamais assez, et
pour thésauriser davantage, il sacrifie parfois l’honnêteté, l’amitié, la santé
corporelle et jusqu’à la religion et au salut de son âme. L’apôtre conclut donc
en observant que l’intime racine de tout péché est la cupidité.
Voilà les motifs
surnaturels sur quoi se fonde la pauvreté évangélique que professent par vœu
les religieux. Selon l’observation du Docteur angélique, ceux-ci, moyennant un
tel renoncement, éloignent efficacement d’eux-mêmes tout ce qui aurait pu créer
un obstacle au développement de la charité et de la grâce de Dieu dans leur
âme.
Les Menées des Grecs
contiennent les vers suivants en l’honneur de l’homme de Dieu :
Toi seul portas sur la
terre le nom d’homme de Dieu.
Toi seul au ciel
également as obtenu, ô Père, un nom nouveau.
Le dix-septième jour
t’apporte la mort, ô Alexis.
Dom Pius Parsch, Le
guide dans l’année liturgique
Il quitta sa maison, son
père et son épouse pour l’amour de Dieu.
1. Saint Alexis. — Qui
fut-il exactement et dans quelle mesure les faits qu’on lui attribue sont-ils
exacts ? Cet « homme de Dieu », comme on l’appelle en Orient, a-t-il vécu en
Orient ou à Rome ? Ce sont des questions que nous n’avons pas à discuter ici.
La légende de saint
Alexis compte parmi les plus touchantes que nous possédions. Fort instructive
et édifiante, elle illustre à merveille l’idéal de la perfection chrétienne :
savoir endurer pour le Sauveur la pauvreté et les humiliations. Peut-il y avoir
héroïsme plus grand que d’habiter pendant dix-sept ans sous l’escalier de la
demeure paternelle, exposé aux railleries de ses propres esclaves, de passer
pour un mendiant inconnu aux yeux de son père, de sa mère et de son épouse
inconsolable ? Et tout cela, résultat de l’amour du Christ qui triomphe de
tout. En supposant que la légende soit dépourvue de fondement historique, il y
aurait encore lieu d’admirer la foi capable de concevoir un tel idéal.
« Alexis, lisons-nous
dans le bréviaire, romain de très noble origine, poussé par un vif amour de
Jésus-Christ, et sur un avertissement particulier de Dieu, partit le premier
soir de ses noces, laissant vierge son épouse, et entreprit à travers le monde
le pèlerinage des plus célèbres sanctuaires. Pendant ces voyages, il resta
dix-sept ans inconnu, jusqu’au jour où à Édesse, en Syrie, son nom fut divulgué
par une image de la Très Sainte Vierge. Quittant donc ce pays, il aborda au
port de Rome et fut reçu chez son père comme un pauvre étranger. Il y vécut
dix-sept ans sans que personne ne le reconnût ; mais, à sa mort, il laissa un
écrit où il révélait son nom, sa naissance et les diverses circonstances de son
existence. Il passa de la terre au ciel sous le pontificat d’Innocent 1er (17
juillet 417) ».La vie de ce saint offre un exemple extraordinaire des voies et
des volontés divines que nous pouvons sinon suivre, du moins admirer. Il montre
à quel héroïsme peut conduire l’amour de Dieu. Efforçons-nous aujourd’hui de
nous laisser pénétrer de cet amour, et qu’il nous incite à l’accomplissement de
multiples bonnes actions.
2. Messe (Os justi). — La
messe, composée en partie de textes du commun et en partie de textes propres,
parle de la pauvreté (Épître et Évangile) : « Nous n’avons rien apporté en ce
monde, et nul doute que nous n’en pouvons rien emporter. Ayant donc la
nourriture et le vêtement, estimons-nous satisfaits. Les avides de richesses
deviennent victimes des tentations et des filets du diable... Car la cupidité
est la racine de tous les vices » (Ép.). Quelle force en ces paroles dans la
bouche d’un saint qui en a tiré les conséquences les plus dures ! Son séjour
dans la demeure paternelle fut une grande « épreuve qu’il supporta » (All.). Il
a « tout quitté et suivi le Sauveur » ; c’est pourquoi « lorsque, au jour du
renouvellement, le Fils de l’homme sera assis sur le trône de sa gloire », il
régnera avec lui. Il a suivi à la lettre la parole du Maître, et, « ayant
quitté pour l’amour du Christ sa maison, son père, son épouse, il a reçu le
centuple et la vie éternelle ». Nous aussi nous pouvons, à la messe, participer
à cette gloire. L’église de Saint-Bonaventure et Saint-Alexis, à Rome, sur
l’Aventin, conserve un certain nombre de souvenirs de notre saint : on y montre
dans la crypte le lieu de sa mort ; plus loin la fontaine de sa maison, et,
enfin, l’escalier sous lequel il a longtemps habité.
SOURCE : http://www.introibo.fr/17-07-St-Alexis-confesseur
Statua
di Sant'Alessio nella Chiesa di Sant'Alessio in Vico Sant'Alessio,
Rione
Lavinaio, Quartiere Pendino, a Napoli.
Photographie : Delehaye
SAINT ALEXIS *
Alexis vient de a, qui veut dire beaucoup, et lexis, qui signifie sermon. De là
Alexis, qui est très fort sur la parole de Dieu.
Alexis fut le fils
d'Euphémien, homme d'une haute noblesse à Rome, et le premier à la cour de
l’empereur : il avait pour serviteurs trois mille jeunes esclaves revêtus de
ceintures d'or et d'habits de soie. Or, le préfet Euphémien était rempli de
miséricorde, et tous les jours, dans sa maison, on dressait trois tables pour
les pauvres, les orphelins, les veuves et les pèlerins qu'il servait avec
empressement; et à l’heure de none, il prenait lui-même son repas dans la
crainte du Seigneur avec des personnages religieux. Sa femme nommée Aglaë avait
la même dévotion et les mêmes goûts. Or, comme ils n'avaient point d'enfant, à
leurs prières Dieu accorda un fils, après la naissance duquel ils prirent la
ferme résolution de vivre désormais dans la chasteté. L'enfant fut instruit
dans les sciences libérales, et après avoir brillé dans tous les arts de la
philosophie, et avoir atteint l’âge de puberté, on lui choisit une épouse de la
maison de; l’empereur et on le maria. Arriva l’heure de la nuit où il alla avec
son épouse dans la chambre nuptiale : alors le saint jeune homme commença par
instruire cette jeune personne de la crainte de Dieu, et à la porter à conserver
la pudeur de la virginité. Ensuite il lui donna son anneau d'or et le bout de
la ceinture qu'il portait en lui disant de les conserver: « Reçois ceci, et
conserve-le tant qu'il plaira à Dieu, et que le Seigneur soit entre nous. »
Après quoi il prit de ses biens, alla. à la mer et s'embarqua à la dérobée sur
un vaisseau qui faisait voile pour Laodicée, d'où il partit pour Edesse, ville
de Syrie, dans laquelle on conservait un portrait de Notre-Seigneur J.-C. peint
sur .un linge sans que l’homme y ait mis la main. Quand il y fut arrivé, il
distribua aux pauvres tout ce qu'il avait apporté avec soi, puis se revêtant de
mauvais habits, il commença par se joindre aux autres pauvres qui restaient
sous le porche de l’église de la Vierge Marie. Il gardait des aumônes ce qui
pouvait lui suffire; le reste, il le donnait aux pauvres. Cependant, son père;
inconsolable de la disparition de son fils, envoya ses serviteurs par tous
pays, afin de le chercher avec soin. Quelques-uns vinrent à Edesse et Alexis
les reconnut; mais eux ne le reconnurent point, et même ils lui donnèrent
l’aumône comme aux autres pauvres. En l’acceptant, il rendit grâces à Dieu en
disant « Je vous rends grâces, dit-il, Seigneur, de ce que vous m’avez
fait recevoir l’aumône de mes serviteurs. » A leur retour, ils annoncèrent au
père qu'on n'avait pu le trouver en aucun lieu. Quant à sa mère, à partir du
Jour de son départ, elle étendit un sac sur le pavé de sa chambre, où au milieu
de ses veilles, elle poussait ces cris lamentables : « Toujours je demeurerai
ici dans le deuil, jusqu'à ce que j'aie retrouvé mon fils. » Pour son épouse,
elle dit à sa belle-mère : « Jusqu'à ce que j'entende parler de mon très cher
époux, semblable à une tourterelle; je resterai dans la solitude avec vous.»
Or, la dix-septième année qu'Alexis demeurait dans le. service de Dieu sous le
porche dont il a été question plus haut, une image de la Sainte Vierge qui se
trouvait là, dit enfin au custode de l’église : « Fais entrer l’homme de Dieu,
parce qu'il est digne du royaume du ciel et l’Esprit divin repose sur lui : sa
prière s'élève comme l’encens en la présence de Dieu. » Et comme le custode ne
savait de qui la Vierge parlait, elle ajouta : « C'est celui qui est assis
dehors sous le porche. » Alors le custode se hâta de sortir et fit entrer
Alexis dans l’église. Ce fait étant venu à la connaissance du public, on se mit
à lui donner dés marques de vénération; mais Alexis, fuyant la vaine gloire,
quitta Edesse et vint à Laodicée, où il s'embarqua dans l’intention d'aller à Tharse
de Cilicie ; cependant Dieu en disposa autrement, car le navire, poussé par le
vent, aborda au port de Rome. Quand Alexis eut vu cela, il se dit en lui-même :
« Je resterai inconnu dans la maison de mon père et je ne serai à charge à
aucun autre. » Il rencontra son père qui revenait du palais entouré d'une
multitude de gens obséquieux, et il se mit à lui crier : « Serviteur de Dieu,
je suis un pèlerin, fais-moi recevoir dans ta maison, et laisse-moi me nourrir
des miettes de ta table, afin que le Seigneur daigne avoir pitié de toi, à ton
tour, qui es pèlerin aussi. » En entendant ces mots, le père, par amour pour
son fils, l’introduisit chez lui ; il lui donna un lieu particulier dans sa
maison, lui envoya de la nourriture de sa table; en chargeant quelqu'un d'avoir
soin de lui. Alexis persévérait dans la prière, macérait son corps par les
jeûnes et par les veilles. Les serviteurs de la maison se moquaient de lui à
tout instant; souvent ils lui jetaient sur la tête l’eau qui avait servi, et
l’accablaient d'injures : mais il supportait tout avec une grande patience. Il
demeura donc inconnu de la sorte pendant dix-sept ans dans la maison de son
père.
Ayant vu en esprit que le
terme de sa vie était proche, il demanda du papier, et de l’encre; et il
écrivit le récit de toute sa vie. Un jour de dimanche, après la messe
solennelle, une voix se fit entendre dans le sanctuaire en disant : « Venez à
moi, vous tous qui travaillez et qui êtes fatigués et je vous soulagerai. »,
Quand on entendit cela, on fut effrayé; tout le monde e jeta la face contre
terre, quand pour la seconde fois, la voix se fit entendre et dit : « Cherchez
l’homme de Dieu afin qu'il prie pour Rome. » Les recherches n'ayant abouti à
rien, la voix dit de nouveau: « C'est dans la maison d'Euphémien que vous devez
chercher. » On s'informa auprès de lui, et il dit qu'il ne savait pas de qui on
voulait parler. Alors les empereurs Arcadius et Honorius vinrent avec le pape
Innocent à la maison d'Euphémien : et voilà que celui qui était chargé d'Alexis
vint trouver son maître et lui dire : « Voyez, Seigneur, si ce ne serait pas
notre pèlerin ; car vraiment c'est un homme d'une grande patience. » Euphémien
courut aussitôt, mais il le trouva mort: il vit sa figure toute resplendissante
comme celle d'un ange: ensuite il voulut prendre le papier qu'il avait dans la
main, mais il ne put l’ôter. En sortant il raconta ces détails aux empereurs et
aux pontifes qui, étant entrés dans le lieu où gisait le pèlerin, dirent : «
Quoique pécheurs, nous avons cependant le gouvernement du royaume; et l’un de
nous a la charge du gouvernement pastoral de l’Eglise universelle, donne-nous
donc ce papier :afin que nous sachions ce qui y est écrit: » Le pape
s'approchant prit le papier, que le défunt laissa aussitôt échapper, et il le
fit lire devant tout le peuple, en présence du père lui-même. Alors Euphémien,
qui entendait cela, fut saisi d'une violente douleur; il perdit connaissance et
tomba pâmé sur la terre. Revenu un peu à lui, il déchira ses vêtements,
s'arracha les cheveux blanchis, se tira la barbe, et se déchira lui-même de ses
propres mains, puis se jetant sur le corps de son fils, il criait : «
Malheureux que je suis ! pourquoi, mon fils, pourquoi m’as-tu contristé
de la sorte ? pourquoi pendant tant d'années m’as-tu plongé dans la
douleur et les gémissements ? Ah! que je suis malheureux de te voir, toi, le
bâton de ma vieillesse, étendu sur un grabat! tu ne parles pas : ah! misérable
que je suis ! quelle consolation pourrai-je jamais goûter maintenant? » Sa mère
en entendant cela, semblable à une lionne qui a brisé le piège où elle était
prise, s'arrache les vêtements, se rue échevelée, lève les yeux au ciel, et
comme la foule était si épaisse qu'elle ne pouvait arriver jusqu'au saint
corps, elle criait: « Laissez-moi passer, que je voie mon fils, que je voie la
consolation de mon âme, celui qui a,sucé mes mamelles. » Arrivée au corps, elle
se jeta sur, lui en criant : « Quel malheur pour moi! mon fils,, la lumière de
mes yeux, qu'as-tu fait là? pourquoi avoir agi si cruellement envers nous? Tu
voyais ton père et ta malheureuse mère en larmes, et tu ne te faisais pas
connaître à nous ! Tes esclaves t'injuriaient et tu le supportais ! » Et à
chaque instant elle se jetait sur le corps, tantôt étendant les bras sur lui, tantôt
caressant de ses mains ce visage angélique, tantôt l’embrassant : « Pleurez
tous avec moi, s'écriait-elle ; puisque, pendant dix-sept ans, je l’ai eu dans
ma maison et je n'ai pas su que ce fût mon fils. Et encore il y avait des
esclaves qui l’insultaient et qui l’outrageaient en le souffletant! Suis-je
malheureuse! qui donnera à mes yeux une fontaine de larmes pour pleurer nuit et
jour celui qui est la douleur de mon âme ? » La femme d'Alexis, vêtue d'habits
de deuil, accourut baignée de larmes. « Quel malheur pour moi! quelle
désolation! me voici veuve, je n'ai plus personne à regarder et sur lequel
j'aie à lever les yeux. » Mon miroir est brisé, l’objet de mon espoir a
péri. Aujourd'hui. commence pour moi une douleur qui n'aura point de fin. » Le
peuple témoin de ce spectacle versait d'abondantes larmes. Alors le pontife et
les empereurs avec lui placèrent le corps sur un riche brancard, et le
conduisirent au milieu de la ville. On annonçait au peuple qu'on avait trouvé
l’homme de Dieu que tous les citoyens recherchaient. Tout le monde courait
au-devant du saint. Y avait-il un infirme? il touchait ce très saint corps, et
aussitôt il était guéri ; les aveugles recouvraient la vue, les possédés du
démon étaient délivrés; tous ceux qui étaient souffrants de n'importe quelle
infirmité recevaient guérison. Les empereurs, à la vue de tous ces prodiges,
voulurent porter eux-mêmes, avec le souverain pontife, le lit funèbre, pour
être sanctifiés aussi par ce corps saint. Alors les empereurs firent jeter une
grande quantité d'or et d'argent sur les places publiques, afin que la foule,
attirée par l’appât de cette monnaie, laissât parvenir le corps du saint
jusqu'à l’église. Mais la populace qui ne tint aucun compte de l’argent, se
portait de plus en plus auprès du corps saint pour le toucher. Enfin ce fut
après de grandes difficultés qu'on parvint à le conduire à l’église de saint
Boniface, martyr; on l’y laissa sept jours qui furent consacrés à la prière.
Pendant ce temps on éleva un tombeau avec de l’or et des pierres précieuses de
toute nature, et on y plaça le saint corps avec grande vénération. Il en
émanait une odeur si suave que tout le monde le pensait plein d'aromates. Or,
saint Alexis mourut le 16 des calendes d'août, vers l’an 398.
* Sigebert de Gemblours, Chron,
an., 405.
La Légende dorée de Jacques de Voragine nouvellement traduite en français avec introduction, notices, notes et recherches sur les sources par l'abbé J.-B. M. Roze, chanoine honoraire de la Cathédrale d'Amiens, Édouard Rouveyre, éditeur, 76, rue de Seine, 76, Paris mdcccci
SOURCE : http://www.abbaye-saint-benoit.ch/voragine/tome02/094.htm
SAINT ALEXIS
Sanctus Alexis | Alexius
Fête: 17 juillet
Latines :
Gautier
de Châtillon, Vita sancti Alexii
Vincent
de Beauvais, Speculum historiale, livre XIX, ch. 43-46 (prose)
Iacopo
da Varazze, Legenda aurea, ch. 90 (prose)
Diverses
versions anonymes en vers et en prose
Allemandes :
Konrad
von Würzburg, Alexius
Diverses
versions anonymes en vers et en prose
Françaises :
Versions
anonymes en vers et prose
Jean
de Vignay, Le miroir historial, livre XIX, ch. 43-46
Jean
de Vignay, La legende dorée, ch. 89 (prose)
Jean
Batallier, La legende dorée, ch. 89 (prose)
Le
tombel de Chartreuse, conte n° 18 (vers)
Italiennes :
Bonvesin
da la Riva, La vita di sant'Alessio
Versions
anonymes en vers et en prose
Néerlandaises :
Sente
Alexis legende (prose)
Occitane :
Portugaise :
A
vida de sancto Alexo confesor
BIBLIOGRAPHIE
Répertoires
bibliographiques
Bossuat,
Robert, Manuel bibliographique de la littérature française du Moyen Âge,
Melun, Librairie d'Argences (Bibliothèque elzévirienne. Nouvelle série. Études
et documents), 1951, xxxiv + 638 p. (ici p. 8-10, nos 39-65bis)
Dictionnaires: DEAF
Boss
Storey,
Christopher, An Annotated Bibliography and Guide to Alexis Studies (La vie
de saint Alexis), Genève, Droz (Histoire des idées et critique littéraire,
251), 1987, 126 p.
Généralités
Addonizio,
Francesco, La leggenda di S. Alessio nella letteratura e
nell'arte. Saggio critico, Napoli, Leone, 1930, 106 p.
Blau, Max
Friedrich, Zur Alexiuslegende, Wien, Gerold's Sohn, 1888, [iii] + 39
p. [GB] [HT] [IA]
Compte rendu:
Brauns, Julius, Über
Quelle und Entwicklung der altfranzösischen "Cançun de saint Alexis",
verglichen mit der provenzalischen Vida sowie den altenglischen und
mittelhochdeutschen Darstellungen, Kiel, Lipsius und Tischer, 1884, x + 58
p. [GB] [IA]
Cseppentő, István, « Une
légende médiévale au XVIIIe siècle: Le nouvel Alexis de Rétif de
La Bretonne », La joie des cours. Études médiévales et humanistes, éd.
Krisztina Horváth, Budapest, Elte Eötvös Kiadó, 2012, p. 30-38. [eltereader.hu]
Eis, Gerhard, «
Alexiuslied und christliche Askese », Zeitschrift für französische Sprache
und Literatur, 59:3-4, 1935, p. 232-236.
Gaiffier, B. de,
??, Analecta Bollandiana, 62, 1944, p. 281-283.
Hürsch, Melitta, «
Alexiuslied und christliche Askese », Zeitschrift für französische Sprache
und Literatur, 58, 1934, p. 414-418.
Johnson, Phyllis, et
Brigitte Cazelles, Le Vain Siècle Guerpir: A Literary Approach to
Sainthood Through Old French Hagiography of the 12th Century, Chapel Hill,
University of North Carolina Press (North Carolina Studies in the Romance
Languages and Literatures, 205), 1979, 321 p.
Comptes rendus:
A. Gier, dans Zeitschrift für romanische Philologie, 96, 1980, p. 405-407.
M. Thiry-Stassin, dans Le Moyen Âge, 88, 1982, p. 360-361.
K. D. Uitti,
dans The Modern Language Review, 76, 1981, p. 458-460. — R. Vermette,
dans Speculum, 56, 1981, p. 144-147.
Mölk, Ulrich, «
La Chanson de saint Alexis et le culte du saint en France aux
XIe et XIIe siècles », Cahiers de civilisation médiévale, 21,
1978, p. 339-355. [Pers] [Acad] DOI: 10.3406/ccmed.1978.2088
Pauphilet, Albert, et
Anne-Françoise Labie-Leurquin, « Saint Alexis (Vie
de) », Dictionnaire des lettres françaises: le Moyen Âge, éd.
Geneviève Hasenohr et Michel Zink, Paris, Fayard, 1992, p.
1330. Réimpr.: Paris, Fayard (La Pochothèque), 1994.
Rösler, Margarete, «
Beziehungen der Celestina zur Alexiuslegende », Zeitschrift für
romanische Philologie, 58, 1938, p. 365-367. [Gallica] DOI: 10.1515/zrph.1938.58.1.331
Rösler, Margarete, «
Versiones españolas de la leyenda de san Alejo », Nueva revista de
filología hispánica, 3, 1949, p. 329-352.
Stebbins, C. E., « Les
origines de la légende de Saint Alexis », Revue belge de philologie et
d'histoire, 51:3, 1973, p. 497-507. DOI: 10.3406/rbph.1973.2970
Stebbins, Charles E., «
Les grandes versions de la légende de saint Alexis », Revue belge de
philologie et d'histoire, 53:3, 1975, p. 679-695. DOI: 10.3406/rbph.1975.3049
Permalien: https://arlima.net/no/200
Archives de littérature
du Moyen Âge
Rédaction: Laurent Brun
Dernière mise à jour: 28 septembre 2018
SOURCE : https://www.arlima.net/ad/alexis_saint.html
Sant’Alessio
di Roma, fresque, XIe siècle, chiesa di San Clemente
Ambito
romano, Storie della vita di sant'Alessio di Roma (ultimo
quarto dell'XI
secolo), affresco; Roma, Basilica di San Clemente al
Laterano
Also
known as
Alexius of Edessa
Alexius the Beggar
Alexis…
Alessio…
The Man of God
17 July (Western
calendar)
17 March (Eastern
calendar)
Profile
The only son of a
wealthy Christian Roman senator.
The young man wanted to devote himself to God, but his
parents arranged a marriage for
him. On his wedding day his fiancee agreed to release him and let him follow
his vocation. He fled his parent‘s
home disguised as a beggar,
and lived near a church in Syria.
A vision of Our
Lady at the church pointed him out as exceptionally holy, calling him
the “Man of God”. This drew attention to him, which caused him to return
to Rome, Italy where
he would not be known. He came as a beggar to
his own home. His parents did
not recognize him, but were kind to all the poor,
and let him stay there. Alexis lived for seventeen years in a corner under the
stairs, praying,
and teaching catechism to
small children.
At his death an
unseen voice was heard to proclaim him ‘The Man of God’, and afterwards his
family found a note on his body which told them who he was and how he had lived
his life of penance from the day of his wedding until
then, for the love of God.
early 5th
century
dying man
with a letter in
his hand
man holding a ladder
man in a pilgrim‘s habit holding
a staff
man lying beneath a staircase
man lying on a mat
old and very ragged beggar with
a dish
old man dressed as
a pilgrim
palm (his
sufferings and patience led some to consider him a martyr)
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MLA
Citation
“Saint Alexius of
Rome“. CatholicSaints.Info. 23 January 2022. Web. 19 March 2023.
<https://catholicsaints.info/saint-alexius-of-rome/>
SOURCE : https://catholicsaints.info/saint-alexius-of-rome/
Saint
Alexis, détail d'un vitrail de l'église Saint-Pierre-ès-Liens, Pomport,
Dordogne, France.
Saint Alexis
Saint Alexis was the only
son of a rich Roman senator. From his good Christian parents, he learned to be
charitable to the poor. Alexis wanted to give up his wealth and honors but his
parents had chosen a rich bride for him. Because it was their will, he married
her. Yet right on his wedding day, he obtained her permission to leave her for
God. Then, in disguise, he traveled to Syria in the East and lived in great
poverty near a Church of Our Lady.
One day, after seventeen
years, a picture of our Blessed Mother spoke to tell the people that this
beggar was very holy. She called him “The man of God.” when he became famous,
which was the last thing he wanted, he fled back to Rome. He came as a beggar
to his own home. His parents did not recognize him, but they were very kind to
all poor people and so they let him stay there. In a corner under the stairs,
Alexis lived for seventeen years.
He used to go out only to
pray in church and to teach little children about God. The servants were often
very mean to him, and though he could have ended all these sufferings just by
telling his father who he was, he chose to say nothing. What great courage and
strength of will that took!
After Alexis died, his family found a note on his body which told them who he was and how he had lived his life of penance from the day of his wedding until then, for the love of God.
SOURCE : http://www.ucatholic.com/saints/alexis/
Pfarrkirche
St. Martin, Langenargen, Bodenseekreis
St. Alexius
Confessor.
According to the most recent researches he was
an Eastern saint whose veneration was transplanted
from the Byzantine empire to Rome,
whence it spread rapidly throughout western
Christendom. Together with the name and veneration of
the Saint, his legend was made known to Rome and
the West by means of Latin versions and recensions based on
the form current in the Byzantine Orient. This process was
facilitated by the fact that according to the
earlier Syriac legend of the Saint, the "Man of
God," of Edessa (identical
with St. Alexius) was a native of Rome.
The Greek legend, which antedates the ninth century and is the basis
of all later versions, makes Alexius the son of a
distinguished Roman named Euphemianus. The night of
his marriage he secretly left his father's house
and journeyed to Edessa in
the Syrian Orient where, for seventeen years, he led the life of
a pious ascetic.
As the fame of his sanctity grew,
he left Edessa and
returned to Rome,
where, for seventeen years, he dwelt as a beggar under the stairs of his father's palace,
unknown to his father or
wife. After his death, assigned to the year 417, a document was found on his
body, in which he revealed his identity. He was forthwith honoured as
a saint and his father's house
was converted into a church placed under
the patronage of Alexius. In this
expanded form the legend is first found in a hymn (canon)
of the Greek hymnographer Josephus (d. 883). It also occurs in
a Syrian biography
of Alexius, written not later than the ninth century, and which presupposes
the existence of a Greek life of the Saint. The
latter is in turn based on an earlier Syriac legend (referred to
above), composed at Edessa between
450 and 475. Although in this latter document the name of Alexius is not
mentioned, he is manifestly the same as the "Man of God" of whom
this earlier Syriac legend relates that he lived in Edessa during
the episcopate of Bishop Rabula (412-435) as
a poor beggar, and solicited alms at
the church door. These he divided among the rest of the poor,
after reserving barely enough for the absolute necessities
of life. He died in the hospital and
was buried in the common grave of the poor. Before his death,
however, he revealed to one of the church servants that he
was the only son of distinguished Roman parents.
After the Saint's death, the servant told this to the Bishop.
Thereupon the grave was opened, but only his pauper's rags were now
found therein. How far this account is based
on historical tradition is hard to determine. Perhaps the only
basis for the story is the fact that a certain pious ascetic at Edessa lived
the life of a beggar and was later venerated as
a saint. In addition to this earlier Syriac legend,
the Greek author of the later biography of St. Alexius, which we
have mentioned above as having been written before the ninth century, probably
had in mind also the events related in the life of St. John Calybata,
a young Roman patrician, concerning whom a similar story is told. In
the West we find no trace of the name Alexius in any martyrology or
other liturgical
book previous to the end of the tenth century; he seems to have been
completely unknown. He first appears in connection with St.
Boniface as titular saint of a church on the
Aventine at Rome.
On the site now occupied by the church of
Sant' Alessio there was at one time a diaconia, i.e. an
establishment for the care of the poor of the Roman
Church. Connected with this was a church which by the eighth
century had been in existence for some time and
was dedicated to St.
Boniface. In 972 Pope
Benedict VII transferred the almost abandoned church to
the exiled Greek metropolitan,
Sergius of Damascus. The latter erected beside the church a monastery for Greek and Latin monks,
soon made famous for the austere life of its inmates. To the name
of St.
Boniface was now added that of St. Alexius as
titular saint of the church and monastery.
It is evidently Sergius and his monks who
brought to Rome the veneration of St.
Alexius. The Oriental Saint, according to his legend a
native of Rome,
was soon very popular with the folk of that city. Among the
frescoes executed towards the end of the eleventh century in
the Roman basilica of St. Clement (now the lower
church of San Clemente) are very interesting representations of
events in the life of St. Alexius. His feast is
observed on the 17th of July, in the West; in the East, on the 17th of
March. The church of Sts. Alexius and Boniface on the
Aventine has been renovated in modern times but several medieval monuments
are still preserved there. Among them the visitor is shown the
alleged stairs of the house of Euphemianus under which Alexius is
said to have lived.
Sources
Acta SS., July, IV, 238
sqq.; Analecta Bollandiana, XIX, 241 sqq. (1900); DUCHESNE, Les
légendes chrétiennes de l'Aventin; Notes sur la topographie de Rome au
moyen-age, N. VII, in Mélanges d'archeol. et d'hist., X, 234 sqq. (1890);
AMIAND, La légende Syriaque de S. Alexis, l'Homme de Dieu (Paris,
1899); KONRAD VON WURZBURG, Das Leben des hl. Alexius (Berlin, 1898);
MASSMANN, St. Alexius Leben (Quedlinburg and Leipzig, 1843);
NERINIUS, De templo et coenobio Sanctorum Bonifatii et Alexii (Rome,
1752); BUTLER, Lives, 17 July.
Kirsch, Johann
Peter. "St. Alexius." The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol.
1. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1907. 23 Apr.
2015 <http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/01307b.htm>.
Transcription. This
article was transcribed for New Advent by Laura Ouellette.
Ecclesiastical
approbation. Nihil Obstat. March 1, 1907. Remy Lafort, S.T.D.,
Censor. Imprimatur. +John Cardinal Farley, Archbishop of New York.
Copyright © 2021 by Kevin Knight.
Dedicated to the Immaculate Heart of Mary.
SOURCE : http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/01307b.htm
Saint
Alexius. Coloured engraving by C. Klauber after J.B Baumgartner.
July 17
St. Alexius, Confessor
From Joseph the Younger,
in a poem of the ninth age, divided into Odes, an anonymous writer of his Life
in the tenth century, noted by the Bollandists, a homily of St. Adalbert,
bishop of Prague, and martyr, of the same age, and from other monuments, free from
later interpolations; on all which see Pinius the Bollandist, t. 4, Julij, p.
239, who confutes at large the groundless and inconsistent surmises of Baillet.
Above all, see Nerinio, abbot of the Hieronymites at Rome, who has fully
vindicated the memory of St. Alexius in his Dissertation De Templo et Cœnobio,
SS. Bonifacii et Alexii, in 4to. Romæ, 1752. On his Chaldaic Acts, see Jos.
Assemani, ad 17 Martii, in Calend. Univ. t. 6, pp. 187, 189; and Bibl. Orient.
t. 1, p. 401.
In the Fifth Century.
ST. ALEXIUS or
Alexis is a perfect model of the most generous contempt of the world. He was
the only son of a rich senator of Rome, born and educated in that capital, in
the fifth century. From the charitable example of his pious parents he learned,
from his tender years, that the riches which are given away to the poor, remain
with us for ever; and that alms-deeds are a treasure transferred to heaven,
with the interest of an immense reward. And whilst yet a child, not content to
give all he could, he left nothing unattempted to compass or solicit the relief
of all whom he saw in distress. But the manner in which he dealt about his
liberal alms was still a greater proof of the noble sentiments of virtue with
which his soul was fired; for by this he showed that he thought himself most
obliged to those who received his charity, and regarded them as his greatest
benefactors. The more he enlarged his views of eternity, and raised his
thoughts and desires to the bright scene of immortal bliss, the more did he daily
despise all earthly toys; for, when once the soul is thus upon the wing, and
soars upwards, how does the glory of this world lessen in her eye! and how does
she contemn the empty pageantry of all that worldlings call great!
Fearing lest the
fascination, or at least the distraction of temporal honours might at length
divide or draw his heart too much from those only noble and great objects, he
entertained thoughts of renouncing the advantages of his birth, and retiring
from the more dangerous part of the world. Having, in compliance with the will
of his parents, married a rich and virtuous lady, he on the very day of the
nuptials, making use of the liberty which the laws of God and his church give a.person
before the marriage be consummated, of preferring a more perfect state,
secretly withdrew, in order to break all the ties which held him in the world.
In disguise he travelled into a distant country, embraced extreme poverty, and
resided in a hut adjoining to a church dedicated to the Mother of God. Being,
after some time there, discovered to be a stranger of distinction, he returned
home, and being received as a poor pilgrim, lived some time unknown in his
father’s house, bearing the contumely and ill treatment of the servants with
invincible patience and silence. A little before he died, he by a letter
discovered himself to his parents. He flourished in the reign of the emperor
Honorius, Innocent the First being bishop of Rome; and is honoured in the
calendars of the Latins, Greeks, Syrians, Maronites, and Armenians. His
interment was celebrated with the greatest pomp by the whole city of Rome, on
the Aventin hill. His body was found there in 1216, in the ancient church of
St. Boniface, whilst Honorius III. sat in St. Peter’s chair, and at this day is
the most precious treasure of a sumptuous church on the same spot, which bears
his name jointly with that of St. Boniface, gives title to a cardinal, and is
in the hands of the Hieronymites
The extraordinary paths
in which the Holy Ghost is pleased sometimes to conduct certain privileged
souls are rather to be admired than imitated. If it cost them so much to seek
humiliations, how diligently ought we to make a good use of those at least
which providence sends us! It is only by humbling ourselves on all occasions
that we can walk in the path of true humility, and root out of our hearts all
secret pride. The poison of this vice infects all states and conditions: it
often lurks undiscovered in the foldings of the heart even after a man has got
the mastery over all his other passions. Pride always remains even for the most
perfect principally to fight against; and unless we watch continually against
it, nothing will remain sound or untainted in our lives; this vice will creep even
into our best actions, infect the whole circle of our lives, and become a main
spring of all the motions of our heart; and what is the height of our
misfortune, the deeper its wounds are, the more is the soul stupified by its
venom, and the less capable is she of feeling her most grievous disease and
spiritual death. St. John Climacus writes, 1 that
when a young novice was rebuked for his pride, he said: “Pardon me, father, I
am not proud.” To whom the experienced director replied: “And how could you
give me a surer proof of your pride than by not seeing it yourself?”
Note 1. Gr. 22, p.
548. [back]
Rev. Alban Butler
(1711–73). Volume VII: July. The Lives of the Saints. 1866.
SOURCE : https://www.bartleby.com/lit-hub/lives-of-the-saints/volume-vii-july/st-alexius-confessor
Église de Saint Alexios, Patras
Article
Here beginneth the Life
of Saint Alexis.
Alexis is as much to say
as going out of the law of marriage for to keep virginity for God’s sake, and
to renounce all the pomp and riches of the world for to live in poverty.
Of Saint Alexis.
In the time that Arcadius
and Honorius were emperors of Rome, there was in Rome a right noble lord named
Euphemius which was chief and above all other lords about the emperors, and had
under his power a thousand knights. He was a much just man unto all men, and
also he was piteous and merciful unto the poor, for he had daily three tables
set and covered for to feed the orphans, poor widows, and pilgrims, and he ate
at the hour of noon with good and religious persons. His wife, that was named
Aglaia, led a religious life, but because they had no child, they prayed unto God
to send them a son that might be their heir after them of their havoir and
goods. It was so that God heard their prayers and beheld their bounty and good
living, and gave unto them a son, which was named Alexis, whom they did to be
taught and enformed in all sciences and honours. After this they married him
unto a fair damoisel which was of the lineage of the emperor of Rome. When the
day of the espousals was come to even, Alexis, being in the chamber with his
wife alone, began to inform and induce her to dread God and serve him, and were
all that night together in right good doctrine. And finally, he gave to his
wife his ring and the buckle of gold of his girdle, both bound in a little
cloth of purple, and said to her: Fair sister, take this and keep it as long as
it shall please our Lord God, and it shall be a token between us, and he give
you grace to keep truly your virginity.
After this he took of
gold and silver a great sum and departed alone from Rome, and found a ship in
which he sailed into Greece, and from thence went into Syria, and came to a
city called Edessa, and gave there all his money for the love of God, and clad
him in a coat, and demanded alms for God’s sake, like a poor man, tofore the
church of our Lady, and what he had left of the alms above his necessity, he
gave it unto others for God’s sake. And every Sunday he was houseled and
received the sacrament; such a life he led long. Some of the messengers that
his father had sent to seek him through all the parts of the world, came to seek
him in the said city of Edessa, and gave unto him their alms, he sitting tofore
the church with other poor people, but they knew not him. And he knew well them
and thanked our Lord saying: I thank thee, fair Lord Jesu Christ, that vouchest
safe to call me and to take alms in thy name of my servants, I pray thee to
perform in me that which thou hast begun. When the messengers were returned to
Rome, and Euphemius, his father, saw that they had not found his son, he laid
him down upon a mattress, stretching on the earth, wailing, and said thus: I
shall hold me here and abide till that I have tidings of my son. And the wife
of his son Alexis said, weeping, to Euphemius: I shall not depart out of your
house, but shall make me semblable and like to the turtle, which after that she
hath lost her fellow will take none other but all her life after liveth chaste.
In like wise I shall refuse all fellowship unto the time that I shall know
where my right sweet friend is become.
After that Alexis had
done his penance by right great poverty in the said city and led a right holy
life by the space of seventeen years, there was a voice heard that came from
God unto the church of our Lady, and said to the porter: Make the man of God to
enter in, for he is worthy to have the kingdom of heaven, and the spirit of God
resteth on him. When the clerk could not find ne know him among other poor men,
he prayed to God to show to him who it was, and a voice came from God and said:
He sitteth without, tofore the entry of the church; and so the clerk found him,
and prayed him humbly that he would come in to the church.
When this miracle came to
the knowledge of the people, and Alexis saw that man did to him honour and
worship, anon for to eschew vain glory, he departed from thence and came into
Greece, where he took ship and entered for to go into Sicily. But, as God would,
there arose a great wind which made the ship to arrive at the port of Rome.
When Alexis saw this, anon he said to himself: By the grace of God I will
charge no man of Rome, I shall go to my father’s house in such wise as I shall
not be known of any person. And when he was within Rome he met Euphemius, his
father, which came from the palace of the emperor with a great meiny following
him. And Alexis, his son, like a poor man ran crying and said: Sergeant of of
God, have pity on me that am a poor pilgrim, and receive me into thine house
for to have my sustenance of the reliefs that shall come from thy board, that
God bless thee and have pity on thy son, which is also a pilgrim. When
Euphemius heard speak of his son, anon his heart began to melt, and said to his
servants: Which of you will have pity of this man and take the cure and charge
of him, I shall deliver him from his servage and make him free, and shall give
him of mine heritage. And anon he committed him unto one of his servants, and
commanded that his bed should be made in a corner of the hall whereas comers
and goers might see him. And the servant to whom Alexis was commanded to keep,
made anon his bed under the stair and steps of the hall, and there he lay right
like a poor wretch, and suffered many villainies and despises of the servants
of his father, which oft-times cast and threw on him the washing of dishes and
other filth, and did to him many evil turns and mocked him, but he never
complained, but suffered all patiently for the love of God. Finally, when he
had led this right holy life within his father’s house, in fasting, in praying
and in doing penance, by the space of seventeen years’ and knew that he should
soon die, he prayed the servant that kept him to give him a piece of parchment and
ink, and therein he wrote by order all his life, and how he was married by the
commandment of his father, and what he had said to his wife, and of the tokens
of his ring and buckle of his girdle that he had given to her at his departing,
and what he had suffered for God’s sake, and all this did he for to make his
father to understand that he was his son.
After this, when it
pleased God for to show and manifest the victory of our Lord Jesu Christ in his
servant Alexis, on a time on a Sunday after mass, hearing all the people in the
church, there was a voice heard from God crying and saying as is said, Matthew,
eleventh chap.: Come unto me ye that labour and be travailed, I shall comfort
you. Of which voice all the people were abashed, which anon fell down unto the
earth. And the voice said again: Seek ye the servant of God, for he prayeth for
all Rome. And they sought him, but he was not found.
Alexis in a morning, on a
Good Friday, gave his soul unto God, and departed out this world, and that same
day all the people assembled at Saint Peter’s church and prayed God that he
would show to them where the man of God might be found that prayed for Rome.
And a voice was heard that came from God that said: Ye shall find him in the
house of Euphemius. And the people said unto Euphemius: Why hast thou hid from
us that thou hast such grace in thine house? And Euphemius answered: God
knoweth that I know no thing thereof. Arcadius and Honorius that then were
emperors of Rome, and also the pope Innocent, commanded that men should go unto
Euphemius’s house for to enquire diligently tidings of the man of God.
Euphemius went tofore with his servants for to make ready his house against the
coming of the pope and emperors, and when Alexis’ wife had understood the cause
and how a voice was heard that came from God saying: Seek the man of God in
Euphemius’s house, anon she said to Euphemius: Sire, see if this poor man that
ye have so long kept and harboured be the same man of God. I have well marked
that he hath lived a right fair and holy life. He hath every Sunday received
the sacrament of the altar, he hath been right religious, in fasting, in
waking, and in prayer, and hath suffered patiently and debonairly of our
servants many villainies. And when Euphemius had heard all this, he ran towards
Alexis and found him dead. He discovered his visage, which shone and was bright
as the face of an angel. And anon he returned toward the emperors and said: We
have found the man of God that we sought, and told unto them how he had
harboured him, and how the holy man had lived, and also how he was dead, and
that he held a bill or letter in his hand which they might not draw out. Anon
the emperor with the pope went to Euphemius’s house and came tofore the bed
where Alexis lay dead, and said: How well the we be sinners, yet nevertheless
we govern the world, and lo here is the pope the general father of all the
church, give us the letter that thou holdest in thine hand for to know what is
the writing of it. And the pope went tofore and took the letter and took it to
his notary for to read, and the notary read it tofore the pope, the emperors
and all the people, and when he came to the point that made mention of his
father, and of his mother, and also of his wife, and that by the ensigns that
he had given to his wife at his departing, his ring and buckle of his girdle
wrapped in a little purple cloth, anon Euphemius fell down aswoon, and when he
came again to himself he began to draw his hair and beat his breast, and fell
down on the corpse of Alexis his son, and kissed it, weeping and crying in
right great sorrow of heart, saying: Alas! right sweet son, wherefore hast thou
made me to suffer such sorrow? Thou sawest what sorrow and heaviness we had for
thee; alas! why hadst thou no pity on us in so long time? How mightest thou
suffer thy mother and thy father to weep so much for thee and thou sawest it
well without taking pity on us? I supposed to have heard some time tidings of
thee, and now I see thee lie dead in thy bed, which shouldst be my solace in
mine age; alas! what solace may I have that see my right dear son dead ? Me
were better die than live. When the mother of Alexis saw and heard this, she
came running like a lioness and cried: Alas! alas ! drawing her hair in great
sorrow, scratching her paps with her nails, saying: These paps have given thee
suck. And when she might not come to the corpse for the foison of people that
was come thither, she cried and said: Make room and way to me, sorrowful
mother, that I may see my desire and my dear son that I have engendered and
nourished. And as soon as she came to the body of her son she fell down on it
piteously and kissed it, saying thus: Alas for sorrow! my dear son, the light
of mine age, why hast thou made us suffer so much sorrow? Thou sawest thy
father, and me thy sorrowful mother so oft weep for thee, and wouldst never
make to us semblance of son. O all ye that have the heart of a mother, weep ye
with me upon my dear son, whom I have had in my house seventeen years as a poor
man. To whom my servants have done much villainy. Ah! fair son, thou hast
suffered them right sweetly and debonairly. Alas! thou that wert my trust, my
comfort and solace in mine old age how mightest thou hide thee from me that am
thy sorrowful mother? who shall give to mine eyes from henceforth a fountain of
tears for to make pain unto the sorrow of mine heart? And after this came the
wife of Alexis in weeping, throwing herself upon the body, and with great sighs
and heaviness said: Right sweet friend and spouse, whom long I have desired to
see, and chastely I have to thee kept myself like a turtle that alone, without
make, waileth and weepeth. And lo ! here is my right sweet husband whom I have
desired to see alive, and now I see him dead; from henceforth I wot not in whom
I shall have fiance ne hope. Certes my solace is dead, and in sorrow I shall be
unto the death, for now forthon I am the most unhappy among all women, and
reckoned among the sorrowful widows. And after these piteous complaints the
people wept for the death of Alexis. The pope made the body to be taken up and
to be put into a fere-tree and borne into the church. And when it was borne
through the city, right great foison of people came against it, and said: The
man of God is found that the city sought. Whatsomever sick body might touch the
fere-tree he was anon healed of his malady. There was a blind man that
recovered his sight, and lame men and others were healed. The emperor made
great foison of gold and silver to be thrown among the people, for to make way that
the fere-tree might pass, and thus by great labour and reverence was borne the
body of Saint Alexis unto the church of Saint Boniface the glorious martyr.
And there was the body put into a shrine much honourably, made of gold and
silver, the seventeenth day of July, and all the people rendered thankings and
laud to our Lord God for his great miracles, unto whom be given honour, laud,
and glory in secula secuIorum. Amen.
SOURCE : https://catholicsaints.info/golden-legend-saint-alexis/
Weninger’s
Lives of the Saints – Saint Alexius, Confessor
Article
The life of Alexius teaches us how great God is in His
Saints. His
parents, Euphemianus and Aglae, were rich and distinguished people, but they
were long without issue. At length, after many prayers, they were blessed with
a son, whom they named Alexius. They neglected nothing to give him a pious
education; and Alexius, who was always much inclined to piety, never gave them
any cause for sorrow, but was their greatest happiness and comfort. When he
grew older, his parents desired that he should take to wife a maiden who was
highly esteemed in Rome, as well on account of her riches as of her virtues.
Although Alexius had different thoughts as to the life he wished to lead, he
nevertheless, after having asked God’s advice in prayer, consented to their
wish, and the wedding was celebrated with great festivities. Alexius, however,
on the same day, felt an invincible desire to leave his bride, and his home,
and all his riches. He obeyed the Divine voice within him, and proceeding to
the apartment of his bride, he made her most costly presents of jewels and
other precious things, asking her to receive and keep them as tokens of his
love. He then went into his room, and, without telling any one of his design,
changed his clothes, and secretly left the house. He hastened to the harbor,
and embarked in a ship which was ready to sail. After a prosperous voyage, he
arrived at Laodicea, and thence went to Edessa in Syria. The consternation in
Alexius’ home, the grief and anxiety of his parents and pious bride, when he did
not return the following day, may easily be imagined. They sent their servants
in all directions to search for Alexius, and bring him back to his home, and as
he could not be found anywhere in the city, messengers were dispatched to
neighboring states and cities; but all was useless; they found no trace of him.
Meanwhile Alexius, after visiting many remarkable places, and having made many
devout pilgrimages, had arrived at Edessa, and begun the life he was resolved
henceforth to lead, and which consisted in living, for the honor of God and the
salvation of his soul, in voluntary poverty until his death. Hence he gave to
the poor all he still possessed, covered himself with a ragged garment, and
went to a church dedicated to the Blessed Virgin. This house of the Almighty
became, so to say, his dwelling-place, as he spent in it the whole day, except
the hour for begging alms. He passed the greater part of the night in praising
the Lord in the vestibule of the sacred edifice, giving only a few hours to
sleep on the bare ground. He fasted most rigidly and distributed most of the
alms he received among the poor. His manner of living altered the face of the
Saint to such a degree that no one would have recognized him. He convinced
himself of this fact by asking alms of his own servants who had come to Edessa
in search of him: they gave him alms without recognizing in the miserable
beggar their own master. When Alexius had lived in this manner for some time,
several persons who had observed his virtuous conduct, began to think that this
beggar was more than he appeared. The curate of the church, one day, while
pondering over the actions of this beggar, heard a voice proceeding from an
image of the Blessed Virgin, informing him that the poor man, who dwelt at the
door of the church, was a great servant of the Almighty, and that his prayers
were very agreeable to the Most High. This was soon known to many, and Alexius
perceived that they began to honor him and treat him with distinction; and as
he had determined to live in abnegation and poyerty, he resolved to leave
Edessa. Accordingly, he went on board of the first vessel he found, praying God
to lead him where it was His holy will that he should serve Him unknown and
unheeded. His prayer was accepted; for, instead of reaching Laodicea, whither
the ship was bound, it was driven into the harbor of Rome. The heroic conqueror
of himself saw in this that it was the design of Providence that he should
continue in his home the life he had begun at Edessa.
The Almighty, who wished
to give to the world an unprecedented example of self-abnegation, inspired
Alexius to go into the house of his father; and the holy youth, although
willing to obey the call, went first to the seven principal churches of the
city, praying God to give him strength for the terrible struggle before him. No
sooner had he finished his prayers, than he went to his father’s house. At that
moment Euphemianus, followed by many of his servants, was coming out of his
house. Alexius, clad in rags, approaching him most humbly said: “Lord, for the
sake of Christ, have compassion on a poor pilgrim, and give me a corner of your
palace to live in.” Euphemianus looked in pity at Alexius, and although he had
no idea that his son was concealed under the garments of the beggar, his heart
was moved and he consented to his request. Hence he ordered his servants to
assign him a place where he might live, and to give him his daily food. The
order was obeyed, and a corner under the staircase, or as some say, a small
room was appointed to the poor pilgrim as his dwelling. He gratefully accepted
it and remained there until his death without being recognized by any one. God
permitted that the servants soon grew weary of him, and often treated him with
great indignity. They not only derided and abused him, but even sometimes dared
to lay hands on him. The holy pilgrim bore it all without complaining. His
greatest trial was when he saw his father, his mother or his bride, or when he
heard from their own lips, how they were grieving for the loss of their
Alexius. But the grace of God sustained him and he wavered not in his heroic
resolution. He never left his corner, except when he went to church. Every week
he partook of the Blessed Sacrament and passed many hours in church in prayer
and devout reading. He fasted daily, slept on the bare floor, and mortified his
body most unmercifully. He possessed no other pictures but those of Christ and
the Blessed Virgin, the sight of which encouraged him to persevere. These were
the means by which God enabled him to overcome the world, the flesh and the
devil. For seventeen years he thus struggled and conquered his own heart in his
father’s house, when it pleased the Almighty to bestow upon this brave and
incomparable soldier, the crown of everlasting glory. The hour of his death was
revealed to him, and Alexius, after having, according to his custom, assisted
at Holy Mass and received the Blessed Sacrament, went home and wrote who he
was, why he had left his father’s house, and all that had taken place during
his absence. This note he folded together and held in his hand when he
peacefully and happily gave his heroic soul to God, in the year of our Lord
403, or as others say in 304.
At the hour of his death,
Euphemianus, his father, was in church, assisting at the divine sacrifice,
which Pope Innocent I offered in the presence of the Emperor Honorius, when
suddenly, a voice announced that the great servant of God at the house of
Euphemianus was dead. The latter, questioned by the Pope and the Emperor, what
servant of God dwelt in his house answered: “It can be none but the poor beggar
to whom I have given lodgings for many years.” Accompanied by the Pope and the
Emperor, Euphemianus went home, found Alexius dead. Seeing a paper in his hand,
Euphemianus would have taken it, but the fingers of the dead had closed so
tightly over it, that it was not possible to loosen them. The Pope and all
present fell on their knees and prayed that God would permit the paper to be
read, after which the Pope approached the Saint, and took the paper without any
effort. The astonishment of all, but especially of Euphemianus, the Pope and
the Emperor, when they read that the beggar was the long-lost son of
Euphemianus is easier to be imagined than described. Grief, surprise, joy and
sorrow overwhelmed the father’s heart with such force, that, for a long time,
he was unable to utter a word. At last throwing himself at the feet of his holy
son, he bedewed them with his tears, and broke out into piteous lamentations
that he had not recognized him. Meanwhile, the mother and bride of the Saint
were apprised of the startling event; and no pen can describe the scene which
took place when they beheld the holy body. The report of this astonishing
occurrence spread quickly through the city, and the palace of Euphemianus was
soon filled with people. Every one wished to kiss, or at least to see the holy
relics. Several miracles which took place, and the heavenly light with which
God graced the countenance of the Saint, increased from hour to hour the crowd
that came to see him. The Pope ordered that the body should be transported to
the Church of Saint Peter, to satisfy the people. He, as well as the Emperor,
followed in the funeral procession, which was more like a triumphal march, and
such as Rome had never seen before. The holy relics were, in the course of
time, transferred to the church of Saint Boniface; and the dwelling of
Euphemianus was converted into a church and dedicated to Saint Alexius. The
costly tomb which encloses the holy body has been honored with many and great
miracles.
Practical Considerations
1. To gain heaven, Saint
Alexius left his home, with all its riches, pleasures and comforts, and lived
an abject, despised and austere life. He was earnest in his desire to save his
soul; hence nothing was too hard for him. What are you doing to save your soul?
You desire to live in pleasures, honors, riches and comforts: you even seek
sinful gratifications. You procure for your body all it desires, you will not
be deprived of anything, you avoid all that is troublesome and do not wish to
suffer or labor to obtain heaven. But nevertheless you desire to reach the same
heaven into which Saint Alexius has entered. Is this reasonable? It is true,
God does not require of you all that this Saint did; but it is also true that
we must conquer ourselves if we will gain salvation; that we must labor and
suffer, avoid sin and sinful pleasures, do penance and good works, if we will
enter the kingdom of God. How dare you hope to gain salvation, if you will not
do this? If you tell me, as many others have said: “Heaven is intended for men”
I shall say to you: “Yes, Heaven is intended for men; but not for sinners and
idle servants, who will neither mortify themselves nor do good works.”
2. To leave home, honors
and riches, and to lead a life of poverty and austerity, was undoubtedly a
heroic deed of Saint Alexius; but infinitely greater was the heroism which made
him continue, during so many years in his father s house, his life of austere
self-abnegation, amid such severe temptations of Satan and persecutions of men.
But man is strong when the grace of God is within him. You sometimes make the
resolution to begin to labor and suffer for heaven. You, so to say, promise to
do and suffer everything to gain salvation. But why is your zeal so
short-lived? Why do you so soon change your mind? Ah! It is not enough to
begin; you must continue until the end, otherwise it is unavailing. If Satan,
or the world would prevent you, fight bravely, as Saint Alexius did, and pray
for strength from the Almighty. “Vain are our good deeds,” writes Saint Gregory
the Great, “if we discontinue them before our life is ended: just as he has run
to no purpose, who ceases his course before he has arrived at the goal.”
MLA
Citation
Father Francis Xavier
Weninger, DD, SJ. “Saint Alexius, Confessor”. Lives
of the Saints, 1876. CatholicSaints.Info.
15 March 2018. Web. 19 March 2023.
<https://catholicsaints.info/weningers-lives-of-the-saints-saint-alexius-confessor/>
SOURCE : https://catholicsaints.info/weningers-lives-of-the-saints-saint-alexius-confessor/
.jpg)
Master of Catherine of Cleves (fl. from 1435 until 1460 ), Heures de Catherine de Clèves, détail de la page 290 : Saint Alexis, circa 1440, The Morgan Library and Museum, Ms. M.917/945, pp. 290-291 (themorgan.org)
Saints of the Day
– Alexis of Rome
Article
(also known as Alexius,
Alessio)
Early 5th century. Since
the 10th century the story of Saint Alexis, called the “Man of God” by his
unknown biographer, has been popular throughout the West. It was introduced
from the East by some Greek monks who were given the Benedictine abbey of Saint
Boniface on the Aventine, which was renamed Saint Boniface and Saint Alexis. In
1216, his bones were discovered by Pope Honorius III and reverently placed
under the high altar of the church.
Though much of the legend
is probably apocryphal, there is no doubt that there was a man of God called
Alexis and that he achieved a great reputation for holiness at Edessa. It is,
however, likely that he lived, died, and was buried at Edessa, and that the man
whose bones were found in Saint Boniface’s were not his. The legend appears to
be a conflation of the life of Saint John Calybites and that of the Man of God
Mar Riscia of Edessa.
According to an almost
contemporary account, a nameless man died in a hospital at Edessa in
Mesopotamia about 430. He had lived by begging, and shared the alms he received
with other poor people. After his death, it was learned that he was the son of
a Roman patrician, who had left a wealthy bride on his wedding day and gone to
live in poverty in Syria. An account of this man, which called him Alexis, was
written in Greek, and a further narrative was produced in Latin.
According to the expanded
late medieval version, Alexis was the only son of Euphremian, a Roman senator
of enormous wealth and influence, and his wife Aglae (Agloe). They were devout
Christians and brought up their son in the spirit of the Gospel. Even as a
child, Alexis was known for his charity.
When Alexis reached
manhood he allowed himself to be betrothed to an heiress who was related to the
imperial family, though he had already determined to give his life to God.
Their wedding took place with great pomp and dignity. As soon as the ceremony
was ended, Alexis took off the gold ring that had just been placed on his
finger, gave it to his bride. They separated by mutual consent and he fled from
his home disguised as a beggar.
He set sail for Syria and
then made his way on foot to the church of Our Lady of Edessa, famous as a
shrine for pilgrims, where he lived in a shack adjoining the church. The Syrian
text of his legend says: “During the day he remained steadfastly in the church
and in the martyrium, refusing alms from those who offered them, for he wished
to do without food during the day and thus forced himself to fast until the
evening.
“In the evening, he stood
in the doorway of the church and held out his hand, receiving the alms of those
who entered the church. But as soon as he had received what he needed, he
closed his hand and would take no more. Nor did he ever cease to live among the
poor. Such was his life every day. Of his earlier condition and status he said
not a word, nor did he even wish to reveal his name.”
After living this life
for 17 years, his identity was revealed; some say that he was recognized by a
sacristan, others that the Blessed Virgin Mary appeared to the people and said:
“Seek the man of God.” To avoid discovery, Alexis fled and took ship for
Tarsus, but a tempestuous wind drove his ship to Italy.
He went to Rome and to
his father’s house, where he found that his parents were still living. He did
not make himself known, nor did anyone recognize him, and when he asked for
lodging he was given permission to sleep under the staircase of his own
sumptuous home; and so he lived, begging his bread in the streets and working
in the kitchen, where he was often insulted by the servants and sharing crumbs
of what was rightly his.
Seventeen years later
while Pope Innocent I was celebrating Mass before the emperor, he heard a voice
saying: “Seek the man of God.” Guided by the selfsame voice, he and the emperor
went to the house of Euphremian, but when they arrived they found Alexis dead.
His body was lying clothed in rags beneath the staircase, and in his hand he
was holding a parchment that gave his name and history.
There is no mention of
Saint Alexis in the ancient martyrologies or other liturgical records. Attempts
to identify him with Alethius, a correspondent of Saint Paulinus of Nola, have
failed. By the 12th century, his story had reached England, where his name is
found in the Albani Psalter that probably belonged to Saint Christina of
Markyate (Attwater, Benedictines, Bentley, Delaney, Encyclopedia, Farmer).
In art, Saint Alexis is
portrayed as a beggar or pilgrim holding a staircase (his emblem). He may also
be shown (1) asleep by the stairs, dirty water emptied on him; (2) as a pilgrim
with a staff and scrip; or (3) as a pilgrim, kneeling before the pope, to whom
he gives a letter (Roeder). Alexis is the patron of beggars and pilgrims
(Roeder).
MLA
Citation
Katherine I
Rabenstein. Saints of the Day, 1998. CatholicSaints.Info.
4 July 2020. Web. 19 March 2023.
<https://catholicsaints.info/saints-of-the-day-alexis-of-rome/>
SOURCE : https://catholicsaints.info/saints-of-the-day-alexis-of-rome/
Icône
de Saint Alexius homme de Dieu,
Pictorial Lives of the Saints –
Saint Alexius
Article
Saint Alexius was the
only son of parents pre-eminent among the Roman nobles for virtue, birth, and
wealth. On his wedding-night, by God’s special inspiration, he secretly quitted
Rome, and journeying to Edessa, in the far East, gave away all that he had
brought with him, content thenceforth to live on alms at the gate of Our Lady’s
Church in that city. It came to pass that the servants of Saint Alexius, whom
his father sent in search of him, arrived at Edessa, and seeing him among the
poor at the gate of Our Lady’s Church, gave him an alms, not recognizing him.
Whereupon the man of God, rejoicing, said, “I thank Thee, O Lord, who hast
called me and granted that I should receive for Thy name’s sake an alms from my
own slaves. Deign to fulfill in me the work Thou hast begun.” After seventeen
years, when his sanctity was miraculously manifested by the Blessed Virgin’s
image, he once more sought obscurity by flight. On his way to Tarsus, contrary
winds drove his ship to Rome. There no one recognized in the wan and tattered
mendicant the heir of Rome’s noblest house; not even his sorrowing parents, who
had vainly sent throughout the world in search of him. From his father’s
charity he begged a mean corner of his palace as a shelter, and the leavings of
his table as food. Thus he spent seventeen years, bearing patiently the mockery
and ill-usage of his own slaves, and witnessing daily the inconsolable grief of
his spouse and parents. At last, when death had ended this cruel martyrdom,
they learned too late, from a writing in his own hand, who it was that they had
unknowingly sheltered. God bore testimony to His servant’s sanctity by many
miracles. He died early in the fifth century.
Reflection – We must
always be ready to sacrifice our dearest and best natural affections in
obedience to the call of our Heavenly Father. “Call none your father upon
earth, for one is your Father in Heaven.” (Matthew 23 9) Our Lord has taught us
this not by words only, but by His own example and by that of His Saints.
MLA
Citation
John Dawson Gilmary Shea.
“Saint Alexius”. Pictorial Lives of the Saints, 1922. CatholicSaints.Info.
12 December 2018. Web. 19 March 2023.
<https://catholicsaints.info/pictorial-lives-of-the-saints-saint-alexius/>
SOURCE : https://catholicsaints.info/pictorial-lives-of-the-saints-saint-alexius/
.jpg)
Saints and
Their Symbols – Saint Alexis
Article
A.D. 400, July
17, patron saint of pilgrims and beggars, was a rich Roman noble, who in
his earliest childhood dedicated himself to God, and was noted for his holiness
and charity. His parents were anxious that he should marry, and chose for him a
beautiful bride. He dared not disobey them, yet he had made a vow to serve God
alone, so he allowed the marriage to be celebrated in great pomp, and
immediately afterwards escaped, only saying farewell to his bride. He fled to
Mesopotamia, where the fame of his good deeds caused him to be regarded as a
saint. Therefore, fearing for his humility, he departed and embarked in a ship,
intending to go to Tarsus, but the vessel was driven by storms back to his own country.
All the time of his absence his wife and parents had been seeking him vainly,
but now that he’ had returned he was so altered that he could not be
recognized. He even begged of his own father, Euphemian, who, thinking of his
lost son, possibly in as miserable a condition, ordered his servants to provide
for him. They, however, ill-treated the supposed beggar, and only allowed him
to live in a hole under the steps. Here he lived several years; and though he
suffered many indignities, and was in constant hearing of his relations
mourning for his loss, he remained firm in his original resolution. At last,
when he felt he was dying, he wrote his own history and laid it in his bosom.
Just at that time the Pope, during the celebration of Mass, heard a voice
telling him to seek in the house of Euphemian for the man of God who should
pray for Home. Then he and all present, among whom was Euphemian himself,
hurried to the house, and there found Alexis lying on the steps, dead, with the
writing in his hand and a light shining from his face, and they knew that this
was the servant of God of whom the voice spoke. Great was the astonishment of
his parents when they read the writing and learned his strange history; and as
the people heard of it they flocked to visit his relics, at which all who had
any diseases were healed. The church of Saint Alexis was built on the site of
his father’s house, and still encloses the steps on which he died. His great
sufferings and patience have won for Saint Alexis the title of martyr, though
he did not actually die a violent death. Emblems – Old and very ragged beggar
with a dish. Dish. Old man dressed as a pilgrim. Cross. Palm.
MLA
Citation
E A Greene. “Saint
Alexis”. Saints and Their Symbols, 1909. CatholicSaints.Info.
9 October 2015. Web. 19 March 2023.
<https://catholicsaints.info/saints-and-their-symbols-saint-alexis/>
SOURCE : https://catholicsaints.info/saints-and-their-symbols-saint-alexis/
Pierre de Cortone, Saint Alexis mourant, huile
sur toile, vers 1638,
église des Oratoriens (chiesa dei
Girolamini), Naples,
chapelle
Saint-Alexis.
Article
Latin: S. Alexius;
Italian Sant’ Alessio
(17th July)
The long-desired son and heir of rich Roman parents. When still young he vowed
himself to the service of God, but his father insisted
upon his marrying a
noble Roman maiden. After the marriage festival
he fled in a small boat by the river to Ostia. There he took ship, and came
to Asia
Minor, where he lived in great poverty,
and taught, and ministered to the people. After a time he returned destitute
to Rome,
and came to his father‘s
house, where no one recognised him, and he was lodged in a hole under the
marble steps of the door. His father, mother,
and wife were still mourning his loss, but he made no sign, and at last came
near to death.
Then he wrote down all he had gone through on paper, and while Innocent
I was celebrating Mass before
the Emperor Honorius a voice was heard, telling them to seek Alexis in the
house of his father Euphemian.
So they came to the place, but meanwhile Alexis had died.
He was given the honours of martyrdom because
of his sufferings and constancy, and became the Patron
Saint of Beggars.
He is represented as
a pilgrim or beggar,
ragged, and carrying a palm or
a cross.
MLA
Citation
Margaret E Tabor. “Saint
Alexis”. The Saints in Art, with Their Attributes
and Symbols. Saints.SQPN.com. 3 May 2017. Web. 19 March 2023.
<https://catholicsaints.info/saints-in-art-saint-alexis/>
SOURCE : https://catholicsaints.info/saints-in-art-saint-alexis/
_-_NGI_cr.jpg)
The
Discovery of Saint Alexis, produced after 1649 by the Studio of George de
La Tour, in the National Gallery of Ireland, Dublin.
Sant' Alessio Mendicante
Roma o Costantinopoli (?)
V secolo – Roma, 17 luglio anno ?
Fattosi povero, da
patrizio qual era, Alessio trascorreva le notti sotto una scala sul colle
romano dell’Aventino. In quel luogo Papa Onorio III gli dedicò nel 1217 una
chiesa, scelta ancora oggi per molti matrimoni che si celebrano nell’Urbe. Ma
quella della scala è soltanto una delle due tradizioni esistenti sul santo.
Secondo quella siriaca, infatti, il giovane fuggì la sera delle nozze per
recarsi a Edessa, dove visse da mendicante e morì. La variante greco-romana
introduce il ritorno a Roma (raffigurato nelle pitture della chiesa inferiore
della basilica San Clemente). Qui Alessio visse sempre da mendico e non venne
riconosciuto dal padre. Fu Papa Innocenzo a scoprirne l’identità e a
comunicarla ai genitori, che, straziati, si recarono al capezzale del figlio
ormai morente. Una scena spesso raffigurata nell’arte. Della figura di Alessio
si è impadronita anche la letteratura. (Avvenire)
Patronato: Mendicanti
Etimologia: Alessio
= protettore, difensore, dal greco
Martirologio
Romano: A Roma nella chiesa sul colle Aventino, sotto il nome Alessio si
venera un uomo di Dio, che, come dice la tradizione, lasciò una casa ricca per
diventare povero e mendicare in incognito l’elemosina.
Tutto sommato la vita di s. Alessio si può descrivere con poche frasi, ma sono le varie narrazioni del tempo antico, che ne arricchiscono lo svolgimento in buona parte leggendario.
Vi sono tre versioni della ‘Vita’: la leggenda siriaca, la leggenda greca, la leggenda latina, che hanno trasformato la semplice e umile vita di un uomo di Dio, mendicante e asceta del V secolo, in un fiorito racconto che è stato oggetto di opere teatrali e di poesia, sia in Oriente che in Occidente.
La leggenda siriaca, la prima composta fra il 450 e il 475, il cui manoscritto più antico risale alla fine del V secolo, narra di un giovane e ricco abitante della nuova Roma cioè Costantinopoli, il quale la sera delle nozze si era allontanato di nascosto imbarcandosi per l’Oriente.
Giunto ad Edessa, città dell’odierna Siria, che nel IV-V secolo era un centro di cultura cristiana (Scuola di Edessa), finché nel VII secolo passò ai musulmani, qui si mise a chiedere l’elemosina con altri mendicanti sull’uscio della chiesa.
Quello che raccoglieva di giorno, lo distribuiva di sera ai poveri della città, per il suo ascetismo venne chiamato Mar-Riscia (uomo di Dio); persone incaricate dal padre di ritrovarlo, giunti anche ad Edessa, non riuscirono ad identificarlo in quel mendicante lacero ed emaciato.
Dopo 17 anni, quando si sentì morire, il giovane mendicante rivelò al sacrestano della chiesa la sua vera identità ed origine, il quale una mattina lo trovò morto sul sagrato.
Il sacrestano si precipitò dal vescovo Rabula (412-435) e lo supplicò di non far confondere nella fossa comune, il corpo di quel santo uomo, il vescovo allora si recò al cimitero per esumarlo, ma trovò solo le misere vesti, il corpo era scomparso.
Nel secolo IX comparve documentata la leggenda greca o bizantina, la quale trasformava significativamente quella siriaca. Prima di tutto dava un nome al giovane chiamandolo Aléxios (Alessio) che significa “difensore” o “protettore”, situando la sua nascita a Roma e non più in Oriente e datando la sua morte al 17 luglio, al tempo degli imperatori fratelli Arcadio e Onorio (395-408).
La leggenda narra che un’icona della Vergine Maria nella chiesa di Edessa (oggi secondo la tradizione, venerata nella chiesa romana di Sant’Alessio sull’Aventino), ordinò al sacrestano di far entrare in chiesa quel mendicante da considerarsi un santo, la voce si diffuse rapidamente fra il popolo dei fedeli, che presero a venerarlo.
Alessio cui non piacevano gli onori, fuggì imbarcandosi per Tarso, ma i venti prodigiosamente lo fecero approdare sulle coste italiane ad Ostia; questo fatto fu preso da Alessio come un’indicazione divina, pertanto decise di farsi ospitare come uno straniero povero nella casa paterna a Roma.
Il padre memore del figlio lontano e in difficoltà, senza riconoscerlo lo accolse con benevolenza in casa, dove Alessio rimase per 17 anni, dormendo in un sottoscala fra le umiliazioni e gli scherni dei servi.
Quando Alessio sentì che la sua fine era vicina, decise di scrivere le avventure e le origini della sua vita su un rotolo, quando morì le campane di Roma si misero a suonare a festa e fu udita una voce divina che diceva: “Cercate l’uomo di Dio affinché egli preghi per Roma”, così fu scoperto il corpo del santo, ancora con il rotolo in mano, che solo gli imperatori Arcadio ed Onorio riuscirono a sfilarglielo e leggere.
Della leggenda latina non si hanno documentazioni prima del secolo X, comparve prima in Spagna e verso l’ultimo quarto del secolo a Roma.
Qui il culto fu diffuso dall’arcivescovo metropolita di Damasco Sergio, il quale costretto a fuggire a seguito dell’invasione dei Saraceni, si stabilì presso la chiesa di San Bonifacio sull’Aventino, qui fondò una comunità monastica mista, dove i greci osservavano la Regola di s. Basilio e i latini quella di s. Benedetto.
Questa comunità rivestì una grande importanza in quel tempo e fra l’altro rielaborò la leggenda greca di s. Alessio in una versione che diventò la tradizione dominante in Occidente, tale da essere inserita nella “Leggenda Aurea” di Jacopo da Varagine.
Le diversità apportate nella leggenda latina sono: la chiesa dove Alessio si sarebbe dovuto sposare divenne la stessa basilica dove il santo sarebbe stato sepolto; la mancata sposa, che la sera precedente le nozze accettò di vivere in castità, si chiamò chi sa perché Adriatica; il rotolo con scritta la sua vita, fu tolto di mano non dagli imperatori, ma dal papa stesso, presenti gli straziati genitori Eufemiano e Aglae, che finalmente seppero che quel mendicante in abiti da pellegrino, vissuto nella loro casa, era l’amato figlio.
Questa nuova versione latina ispirò canti popolari e leggende che i contadini si tramandavano da padre in figlio.
Nel 1217 papa Onorio III dedicò la chiesa di S. Bonifacio anche al leggendario s. Alessio; dell’antica chiesa, dopo i vari rifacimenti non è rimasto quasi nulla, nell’attuale basilica barocca, c’è la Cappella di S. Alessio e in essa è contenuto un frammento lungo circa un metro della scala sotto la quale il santo dormiva, il frammento sovrasta la statua in marmo, raffigurante s. Alessio sul letto di morte, vestito da pellegrino di Santiago, opera dello scultore Antonio Bergondi, seguace del Bernini.
Testimonianza artistica sulla sua vita è il ciclo di affreschi di fine XI secolo, situato nella chiesa inferiore di San Clemente a Roma; in questo ciclo compaiono già gli attributi che lo identificano, come la scala, il bastone da pellegrino, la lettera nella mano serrata dalla morte, che verranno poi ripresi dai tanti artisti che lo hanno raffigurato nei secoli successivi.
A conclusione è opportuno notare come il numero 17 compaia più volte nella vita di s. Alessio; 17 sono gli anni passati ad Edessa e 17 quelli trascorsi a Roma in casa de padre; il 17 luglio è la data ritenuta della sua morte, come pure egli viene celebrato in Oriente il 17 marzo e in Occidente il 17 luglio.
Ancora oggi nella Basilica di S. Alessio sull’Aventino, molte coppie di sposi vogliono qui celebrare il loro matrimonio.
Autore: Antonio Borrelli
SOURCE : http://www.santiebeati.it/dettaglio/63150
Alexius
of Edessa, ink sketch by Johann Wolfgang Baumgartner (1702–1761), reproduced as
a photogravure print
Alexius
von Edessa, Tuscheskizze von Johann Wolfgang Baumgartner, reproduziert als
Kupfertiefdruck. Christoffel, Ulrich. Deutsche Kunst 1650–1800. München:
Hyperion 1923.
Mélanges de l’École
française de Rome. Italie et Méditerranée modernes et contemporaines
124-2 | 2012
Fidéicommis. Procédés juridiques et pratiques sociales (Italie-Europe, Bas Moyen Âge-XVIIIe siècle) - Saint Alexis à l'époque moderne
Saint Alexis à l'époque moderne
Bernard Dompnier et Stefania Nanni. La figure de saint Alexis dans la culture et la dévotion de l’époque moderne [Texte intégral]
Stefania Nanni. Sant’Alessio e Roma [Texte intégral]
Catherine Vincent. Fortunes médiévales du culte de saint Alexis [Texte intégral]
Bernard Dompnier et Jean-Marie Le Gall. Saint Alexis dans la piété et la spiritualité des XVIIe et XVIIIe siècles [Texte intégral]
Sara Cabibbo et
Alessandro Serra
« L’uomo di Dio » fra
agiografia e letteratura devota (secc. XVI-XVIII) [Texte intégral]
Cécile Davy-Rigaux et Thomas D’Hour. La célébration de saint Alexis dans les livres liturgiques diocésains français des XVIIe et XVIIIe siècles [Texte intégral]
Arnaldo Morelli. « Alexius Romanorum nobilissimus » dagli altari alle scene. Il Sant'Alessio di Rospigliosi/Landi : contesto, drammaturgia e recezione di una « historia sacra » [Texte intégral]
Anne Teulade. Mettre en scène la pure vertu de saint Alexis : Nicolas Mary Desfontaines dans le contexte européen [Texte intégral]
Massimo Moretti. Sant’Alessio « splendore della famiglia Savella ». La leggenda del nobile e buon pellegrino in dodici pitture [Texte intégral]
