Born in Florence in the 13th century, he was the son of Bernard Falconiere, a merchant prince of Florence. 

Extremely successful as a merchant in his own right, Alexis also had a great devotion to The Blessed Mother and in 1225 joined a confraternity dedicated to Her. 

There he met six others who also loved The Blessed Mother but who, like Alexis, were distressed at the sinfulness of the community around them. 

While Alexis and the others were all together on the Feast of The Assumption in 1233, they all had a vision and, soon after, moved to Monte Senario on the outskirts of Florence where they had another vision that led them to found the Order of the Servites. 

Alexis was the only one of the Seven Holy Founders who did not become a priest because he felt he was not worthy of such an honor. To raise money to support the new order, he would go back into Florence seeking help from the same circles he had once moved in as a wealthy and powerful merchant, and for many years, managed the day-to-day order of the Servites. 

He died on this day in 1310, at the age of 110. 

St. Alexis Falconieri, please pray for us.