Alexander Stewart was a Scottish

Scottish people

The Scottish people , or Scots, are a nation and ethnic group native to Scotland. Historically they emerged from an amalgamation of the Picts and Gaels, incorporating neighbouring Britons to the south as well as invading Germanic peoples such as the Anglo-Saxons and the Norse.In modern use,...

 prelate

Prelate

A prelate is a high-ranking member of the clergy who is an ordinary or who ranks in precedence with ordinaries. The word derives from the Latin prælatus, the past participle of præferre, which means "carry before", "be set above or over" or "prefer"; hence, a prelate is one set over others.-Related...

; also known as Alexander Stewart of Pitcairn. He was the son of Alexander Stewart, Duke of Albany, and his first wife Catherine Sinclair, daughter of William Sinclair

William Sinclair, 1st Earl of Caithness

William Sinclair , 1st Earl of Caithness , 3rd Earl of Orkney , Baron of Roslin was a Scottish nobleman and the builder of Rosslyn Chapel, in Midlothian....

, Earl of Orkney

Earl of Orkney

The Earl of Orkney was originally a Norse jarl ruling Orkney, Shetland and parts of Caithness and Sutherland. The Earls were periodically subject to the kings of Norway for the Northern Isles, and later also to the kings of Alba for those parts of their territory in mainland Scotland . The Earl's...

 and Earl of Caithness

Earl of Caithness

Earl of Caithness is a title that has been created several times in the Peerage of Scotland, and has a very complex history. Its first grant, in the modern sense as to have been counted in strict lists of peerages, is now generally held to have taken place in favor of Maol Íosa V, Earl of...

. The marriage of his parents was dissolved in 1478 and his father remarried, but it was not until 1516 that an act of parliament made the marriage unlawful and ensured that Alexander jr would be regarded as legally illegitimate and unable to inherit his father's title.

His high birth, however, enabled a successful career in the church. He held Inchaffray Abbey

Inchaffray Abbey

Inchaffray Abbey was situated by the village of Madderty, midway between Perth and Crieff in Strathearn, Scotland. The only trace now visible is an earth mound and some walls on the island where the abbey once stood.-History:...

 from 1514 and Scone Abbey

Scone Abbey

Scone Abbey was a house of Augustinian canons based at Scone, Perthshire , Scotland. Varying dates for the foundation have been given, but it was certainly founded between 1114 and 1122....

 from 1518 in commendam

In Commendam

In canon law, commendam was a form of transferring an ecclesiastical benefice in trust to the custody of a patron...

. Between 1516 and 1518 he held a right to the commend of Whithorn Priory

Whithorn Priory

Whithorn Priory is located in Wigtownshire, Galloway. It was founded about the middle of the twelfth century, in the reign of David I, by Fergus, Lord of Galloway, with Gille Aldan, Bishop of Galloway, for Premonstratensian Canons, referred colloquially in Britain as the White Canons.The canons of...

, a right he gave up to the papally-backed Silvio Passarini. He held the Collegiate Church

Collegiate church

In Christianity, a collegiate church is a church where the daily office of worship is maintained by a college of canons; a non-monastic, or "secular" community of clergy, organised as a self-governing corporate body, which may be presided over by a dean or provost...

 of Dunbar

Dunbar

Dunbar is a town in East Lothian on the southeast coast of Scotland, approximately 28 miles east of Edinburgh and 28 miles from the English Border at Berwick-upon-Tweed....

 from 1504 until at least 1510, and almost certainly beyond. He was Dean

Dean (religion)

A dean, in a church context, is a cleric holding certain positions of authority within a religious hierarchy. The title is used mainly in the Anglican Communion and the Roman Catholic Church.-Anglican Communion:...

 of Brechin

Diocese of Brechin

The pre-Reformation Diocese of Brechin or Diocese of Angus was one of the thirteen historical dioceses of Scotland. The diocese was believed to have been founded by Bishop Samson in 1153, and based at the cathedral in Brechin, Angus...

 from at least 1523, and perhaps as early as 1512. He was given crown nomination to the bishopric of Moray

Diocese of Moray

The Diocese of Moray was one of the most important of the medieval dioceses in Scotland. It was founded in the early years of the 12th century by David I of Scotland under its first bishop, Gregoir...

 and then papal provision on September 13, 1529, after the failure of the candidature of Alexander Douglas I

Alexander Douglas (fl. 1528)

Alexander Douglas was a Scottish aristocrat and cleric. He was the son of Sir Archibald Douglas of Kilspindie, Treasurer of Scotland. After the death of Robert Shaw, Bishop of Moray, Alexander was given crown nomination to the Apostolic see as Shaw's successor...

. He was probably not consecrated until 1532. He was allowed to retain control of his monastic commends. He died on December 19, 1537.