Saint Alexander was the sixth Bishop of Rome. He ascended to the Holy See around 106 and reigned for 10 years. His saint day is 3 May and he is represented with his chest pierced with nails or spikes and often wearing a triple tiara.
Alexander was born a Roman citizen and according to Karen Rae Keck may have been educated by Pliny the Younger.1 Little is know about him however he is often attributed with having added the Qui Pridie, which commemorates the last supper, to the Canon of the Mass but this is thought to be incorrect. Thomas J. Shahan points out "such [words] being certainly primitive and original in the Mass"2 and there is little evidence other than tradition to support the claim. Alexander is also attributed with introducing the custom of blessing houses with water mixed with salt to purify them from evil influences. However Louis Duchesne and modern scholars have dismissed this an ancient pagan custom.
Alexander was traditionally known as a martyr. The tradition states he was imprisoned and whilst imprisoned he converted his jailer, Saint Quirinus, and the jailer's daughter, Saint Balbina. He was burned and then beheaded on the Via Nomentana in Rome along with two priests, Eventius and Theodulus. However most scholars believe that this attribution of martyrdom is erroneous and that the Pope was separate from another Alexander who was actually martyred under Hadrian's persecution. Another twist in the story came in 1855 when archaeologists discovered the tomb of the martyred Alexander and the two priests at the spot identified in the above tradition. Some archaeologists claim that the body found was that of the actual Pope and that the martyr and the Pope are one and the same. Despite this the majority view is still that there was some confusion between the two dating back to the 5th century.
Evaristus - Pope - Sixtus I
1 - http://www2.evansville.edu/ecoleweb/glossary/alexi.html
2 - http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/01285c.htm
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