Blessed Alexis Falconieri

13th century. Look upon it as a very probable sign of your saint if you persevere in invoking Mary every day. B. Alain de la Roche, Part. IV, serv. I, c. 24. Mount Senario, about nine miles from Florence, was so called because of the goodness of the air and its pleasant temperature, as one might say Mons sani aeris; but it deserves this name even more for the atmosphere of grace and peace that souls have breathed there since the Queen of Heaven made it the dwelling of her servants: I speak of the Order of Servites, one of the most beautiful flowers to have blossomed in the garden of the Church. Saint Philip Benizi is not its stem, as the Rev. Fr. Hélyot clearly demonstrates; this Order recognizes as its founders seven merchants of Florence named, by ancient writers, Bonfils Monaldi, Bonagiunta Monetti, Amédée Amidei, Manetto del l'Antella, Uguccioni, Sostegno di Sostegni, and Alexis Falconieri; but it appears th at some changed t Alexis Falconieri One of the seven founders of the Order of Servites, characterized by his great humility. heir names upon renouncing the world, following the practice of religious, as Father Giani remarks in his Annales, where he names them Bonfils Monaldi, John Monetti, Benedict del l'Antella, Bartholomew Amédée, Ricouère-Lippe Uguccion, Gerardin Sostegni, and Alexis Falconieri. Most of them came from the best families of Tuscany. All seven had enlisted under the banner of the Blessed Virgin, and were part of a society which, under the title of Laudesi, had the goal of singing the praises of this holy Mother of God, of reciting her office, and of honoring her by all sorts of means. They were, to fulfill this obligation, in their oratory on the day of the Assumption of Our Lady, in the year 1233, and among them was noted Alexis Falconieri, whose feast we celebrate today: the Blessed Virgin appeared to each of them and exhorted them to renounce the world to embrace a more perfect way of life. They communicated this marvelous vision to one another, and faithful to the voice of their queen, they united and began by selling their goods and distributing them to the poor: which they did, however, only after having consulted the Bishop of Florence, Aringo. This holy prelate, having confirmed them in their good purpose and exho rted them not to delay in évêque de Florence, Aringo Bishop of Florence who supported and guided the seven founders. obeying the orders of heaven, permitted them to have an oratory and an altar to have Mass celebrated in the place they deemed appropriate; he declared himself their protector, and, as they wished to live only on alms, he permitted them to ask for them in the city and its surroundings; after which they retired first to a wretched house, outside the city walls, in a place called the Champ-de-Mars, whether it had been given to them or they had purchased it. It was there that, stripping themselves of their worldly clothes and the senatorial robe that had made them respected as members of the Republic, whose highest dignities they had filled, they dressed as those do who no longer aspire to be anything but members of the heavenly city; they clothed themselves in a poor ash-colored habit, and, no longer knights of the earth, but of heaven, they armed their bodies with hairshirts, cilices, and iron chains, to prepare themselves to sustain the battles that the devil would surely wage against them; Bonfils Monaldi, as the eldest, commanded this generous troop. To better succeed in their project of extending the reign of Jesus Christ under the protection of his holy Mother, they returned to the Bishop of Florence to receive his blessing and new instructions. They were no sooner entered into the city than the people looked upon them with admiration, surprised to see rich and opulent persons thus trampling underfoot dignities and wealth, seeking no other treasure than poverty, no other greatness than humility. One was even more surprised when one heard children who were at the breast cry out, pointing at them with their fingers: "Behold the servants of the Virgin!" This prodigy caused Bishop Aringo to advise them not to change this name, which had been given to them miraculously, and which was confirmed to them when, returning to Florence to receive the alms upon which they lived, the children called them so again. They remained about a year in their first retreat; but the world they were fleeing followed them there, attracted by the brilliance of their holiness; this made them resolve to seek a solitude to be more hidden from men.