July 17 + Saint Alexis the Beggar

Alexis was the only son of a wealthy 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 for him a bride from an affluent family. Because it was their will, he honored it and he married her. Yet 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, an image 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 for this, he fled back to Rome.

He returned 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 in the palace, Alexis lived for 17 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.

His parents came to know who they had been sheltering from a note found on his body after his death, written in his own hand, which told them who he was and how he had lived his life of penance from the day of his wedding until then, for love of God. All the bells in Rome started ringing as a tribute to this selfless beggar, known as “The Man of God.”

St. Alexis’ relics are in the Basilica dei Santi Bonifacio ed Alessio in Rome Italy. There is a statue of him there (pictured) which depicts him sleeping under a staircase just as he did at his parents palace for 17 years. There is a Religious Order in the Catholic Church named for him and called “The Alexian Brothers.” They devote themselves to taking care of the old, the mentally ill and those suffering from nervous collapse.