‘Leave the world, the better to serve Almighty God.”
Alexis was born in 1200, in Florence, Italy, to Bernard Falconieri, a wealthy merchant prince and one of the leaders of the Republic. Alexis grew up in the practice of the most profound humility.
At around the age of 25, he joined the Laudesi, a pious confraternity of the Blessed Virgin, and there developed a strong friendship with 6 other individuals. Each were a member of a patrician family of Florence.
An apparition of the Mother of God appeared to him and his friends on August 15, 1233 and soon afterwards founded the Order of the Servants of Mary, or Servite Order. They left their city, families, and professions and withdrew to Monte Scenario, a mountain outside of Florence, for a life of poverty and penance.
The Bishop of Florence approved the group as a religious order.
They dedicated themselves to Mary under her title of Mother of Sorrows, adopting her virtues of hospitality and compassion as the order’s hallmarks. The distinctive spirit of the order is the sanctification of its members by meditation on the Passion of Jesus and the Sorrows of the Virgin Mary, and spreading abroad this devotion. They developed a community life in the tradition of the mendicant orders per the Rules of Saint Augustine.
The others were ordained as priests but Alexis felt unworthy and chose to remain a lay brother. This had created an Order with priests, as well as brothers. Instead he managed the daily affairs and worked diligently to provide the material and financial requirements of the congregation. He would also beg on the streets when he had no other sources of revenue.
In 1252, with financial assistance from Chiarissimo Falconieri, he constructed a new church at Cafaggio on the outskirts of Florence.
He was the oldest to survive and died at Monte Scenario on February 17, 1310 at the age of 110. At his death, he was visited with an apparition of the Infant Jesus as witnessed by several in attendance.
Although Pope Alexander IV favored a plan for all orders to follow the Rule of Saint Augustine, a change was allowed which confirmed the Servite Order as a separate body with the power to elect a general. They experienced centuries of growth and expansion. After natural contraction in size afterwards, they experienced a new expansion in 1895 with the house of studies in Rome being re-founded as the College of Saint Alessio Falcioneri. A new foundation was made in Brussels and the Order was introduced into England and the United States.
Through the 1900’s, the Order expanded further with missions in Swaziland, Brazil, Chile, South Africa, Argentina, Uruguay, Bolivia, Mexico, Australia, Venezuela, Colombia, India, Mozambique, Philippines, and with the latest in Uganda.
The other 6 founders were Saint Buonfiglio Monaldo, Saint Benedict dell’ Antella (Manettus), Saint Bartholemew Amidei, Saint Ricovero Uguccioni, Saint Gerardino Sostegni, and Saint John Manetti. They were canonized by Pope Leo XIII in 1888.
He is the uncle of Saint Juliana Falconieri who was trained in sanctity under his direction.
He is the patron saint of Orvieto, Italy.
They all share the same feast day of February 17.
For God’s Glory.
https://servite.org/ Order of Friar Servants of Mary – USA Province
