Alexius (5th century)

Biography

His father wanted to marry Alejo against his will and on the same day of his wedding he escaped and boarded a ship that left for Syria and there he continued to Edessa, Turkey where he begged for alms at the doors of the churches for seventeen years, later distributing it among the other poor. When the fame of his holiness began to spread, Alexius fled on a sailing ship towards Tarsus, but contrary winds pushed him towards Rome. Without revealing his identity, he went to ask for hospitality at his parents' house, where they allowed him to sleep under the stairs of his father's palace. Alexius lived another seventeen years in Rome begging in the streets, praying in churches, and sleeping in his new home. Every night the slaves threw the day's leftovers at him. It is said that one day when Pope Innocent I was celebrating mass, in the presence of the emperor, a voice was heard saying “Seek the man of God” and also revealed that he was in the house of Eufemianus. When they went to look for him, they found Alejo dead, with a document in his hand that revealed his identity.