Pope Saint Alexander I was Bishop of Rome from about 106 to 115. The
Holy SeeThe Holy See is the episcopal jurisdiction of the Bishop of Rome, commonly known as the Pope, and is the preeminent episcopal see of the Catholic Church, forming the central government of the Church. As such, diplomatically, and in other spheres the Holy See acts and speaks for the whole Catholic...
's
Annuario PontificioThe Annuario Pontificio is the annual directory of the Holy See. It lists all the popes to date and all officials of the Holy See's departments...
(2008) identifies him as a
RomanRome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated municipality , with over 2.7 million residents in , while the population of the urban area is estimated by Eurostat to be 3.46 million. The metropolitan area of Rome is estimated by OECD to have a population of 3.7 million...
who reigned from 108 or 109 to 116 or 119. Some believe he suffered
martyrdomA martyr is somebody who suffers persecution and death for refusing to renounce a belief, usually religious.-Meaning:...
under the
Roman EmperorThe Roman emperor was the ruler of the Roman State during the imperial period . The Romans had no single term for the office: Latin titles such as imperator , augustus, caesar and princeps were all associated with it...
TrajanMarcus Ulpius Nerva Traianus, commonly known as Trajan , was a Roman Emperor who reigned from A. D. 98 until his death in A. D. 117...
or
HadrianPublius Aelius Hadrianus was emperor of Rome from AD 117 to 138, as well as a Stoic and Epicurean philosopher...
, but this is improbable.
In the article on Saint Alexander I in the 1907
Catholic EncyclopediaThe Catholic Encyclopedia, also referred to today as the Old Catholic Encyclopedia, is an English-language encyclopedia published in the United States. The first volume appeared in March 1907 and it was completed in April 1914...
, Thomas Shahan judges inaccurate the tradition that this Pope inserted into the Roman Canon the narration of the
Last SupperIn the Christian Gospels, the Last Supper was the last meal Jesus shared with his Twelve Apostles and disciples before his death...
(the
Qui pridie). Pope Alexander I is also said to have introduced the use of blessing water mixed with salt for the purification of Christian homes from evil influences, and the custom of mixing water with the sacramental wine. This too is considered unlikely.
In some editions of the
Roman MissalThe Roman Missal is the liturgical book that contains the texts and rubrics for the celebration of the Mass in the Roman Rite of the Catholic Church.-History:...
the Saint Alexander commemorated on 3 May is identified with Pope Alexander I. This identification is not found in the
Tridentine MissalThe Tridentine Calendar is the calendar of saints to be honoured in the official liturgy of the Roman Rite during the course of the liturgical year. It was established in 1570 by Pope Pius V, when he implemented a decision of the Council of Trent by promulgating his Roman Missal...
promulgated by
Pope Pius VPope St. Pius V , born Antonio Ghislieri , was pope from 1566 to 1572 and is a saint of the Roman Catholic Church...
in 1570. Since nothing is known of the Saints Alexander, Eventius and Theodulus of 3 May other than their names and the facts that they were martyred and were buried at the seventh milestone of the
Via NomentanaVia Nomentana is an ancient road of Italy, leading North-East from Rome to Nomentum , a distance of 23 km . It originally bore the name Via Ficulnensis, from the old Latin village of Ficulnea, about 13 km from Rome...
on that day, the one whose name coincided with that of a pope was identified with the Pope, as has happened also in other cases: a martyr named Felix was even confused with
Antipope Felix IIAntipope Felix II was installed as Pope in 355 after the Emperor Constantius II banished the reigning Pope, Liberius, for refusing to subscribe the sentence of condemnation against Saint Athanasius. In May 357 the Roman laity, which had remained faithful to Liberius, demanded that Constantius, who...
. The identification of the martyr Alexander with the Pope was removed from the Roman Calendar by
Pope John XXIIIBlessed Pope John XXIII , born Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli , known as Blessed John XXIII since his beatification, was elected as the 261st Pope of the Roman Catholic Church and Sovereign of Vatican City on October 28, 1958.He called the Second Vatican Council but did not live to see it to completion,...
in 1960.
His
remainsRemains may refer to:*"Remains" , a 2009 song by Maurissa Tancharoen and Jed Whedon*Remains , a 2007 compilation album by punk band Alkaline Trio*Remains , a 1997 album by heavy metal band Annihilator...
are said to have been transferred to
FreisingFreising is a town in Bavaria, Germany, capital of the district Freising. Total population 48,500.The city is located north of Munich at the Isar river, near the Munich International Airport...
in
BavariaBavaria , with an area of and almost 12.5 million inhabitants, is located in the southeast of Germany and is the largest state of Germany by area, forming almost 20% of the total land area of Germany...
,
GermanyGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered to the north by the North Sea, Denmark, and the Baltic Sea; to the east by Poland and the Czech Republic; to the south by Austria and Switzerland; and to the west by France, Luxembourg, Belgium,...
in AD 834.
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