ON ST. ALEXANDER, MARTYR, BISHOP OF FERMO IN PICENUM.
CommentaryAlexander, Bishop of Fermo, Martyr in Picenum (S.)
The Roman Martyrology: "On the 3rd of the Ides of January, at Fermo in Picenum, of St. Alexander, Bishop and Martyr." His acts appear to have been lost when the city of Fermo was burned by the Emperor Frederick I. Ferrarius writes the following about him in his catalogue of the Saints of Italy, drawn from the records of the Church of Fermo: Alexander, said to have been a native of Fermo from the Sinigarda family, who, having been made Bishop of the Church of Fermo, was slain not far from the city on the road that leads to the monastery of St. Savinus, by the enemies of the Catholic faith, for the defense of that same faith, and was crowned with martyrdom. His body rests in the Metropolitan basilica, interred in a marble sarcophagus, where an epitaph written in Lombard letters reads thus: "Here lies deposited the most blessed body of the glorious Martyr and Bishop Alexander." His memorial is celebrated at Fermo on the 3rd of the Ides of January, as is noted in the Roman Martyrology.