The New International Encyclopædia/Alexius

ALEX′IUS. A Roman saint of the fifth century, patron of the society of Alexians or Cellites. He is said to have been a Roman senator, but gave up the world for a life of poverty and celibacy. His relics are said to have accomplished marvelous cures. Alexius is honored in the calendars of the Latins, Greeks, Syrians, Maronites, and Armenians. His festival occurs on July 17. He was a favorite subject among the poets of the Middle-High-German period. Consult: Massmann, Sankt Alexius Leben (Quedlinburg, 1843); Paris and Pannier, La vie de Saint Alexis (1872); Blau, Zur Alexislegende, in the Germania (1888), Volume XXXIII., and A. Amiaud, La légende syriaque de Saint Alexis (1889).