Bienheureux ALEXANDRE de LUGO, prêtre dominicain et martyr

The view of the eastern tower of the Genoese castle in Chios.

Bienheureux Alexandre de Lugo

Dominicain espagnol (+ 1645)

Dominicain espagnol qui voulut évangéliser les Turcs, et comme tant d'autres chrétiens, principalement orthodoxes, connut le martyre par fidélité au Christ qu'il ne voulut jamais renier.

SOURCE : http://nominis.cef.fr/contenus/saint/5617/Bienheureux-Alexandre-de-Lugo.html

Blessed Alexander of Lugo, OP M (AC)

(also known as Alexander Baldrati)

Born in Lugo, Italy, 1595; died on Chios Island in 1645.

If anyone ever was framed and destroyed by a tissue of lies, it was Alexander Baldrati a Lugo, who was martyred by the Islamics. Alexander was baptized in the Dominican church at Lugo, Italy. Showing early signs of piety, he was carefully educated and was received into the order in Lugo in 1612. He studied first in Faenza, then in Naples, in the convent of Our Lady of the Arch. After his ordination, he was sent to Bologna, where he carried on a heavy program of preaching and teaching. He devoted half his time to God and half to his neighbor; by arithmetic, that left none for himself. Eventually his health failed. It was during his convalescence in Venice that circumstances sent him on the great adventure of his life.

Just why a sick man should embark on a trip to the Orient is not quite clear; perhaps his superiors thought a sea voyage would help him. At any rate, he arrived on the island of Chios and--like many convalescent religious--promptly began devoting a full day to preaching.

He happened to incur the bitter hatred of an apostate Christian, who began planning his downfall. When the archbishop of Edessa arrived, en route to his see, and stopped over with the Dominicans, the apostate convinced his friends that the Christians were moving in on Chios (sort of like the pope is moving into the White House) and a furor of anti-Christian feeling arose among the fanatical Islamics. However, the target of wrath was not the archbishop of Edessa, nor the other transient archbishop staying with the Dominicans, but Alexander. The apostate, who had elected himself spokesman, went to the governor and denounced Alexander. This Dominican, he said, had secretly become a follower of Islam, and he could prove it.

Like many another brazenly false charge, this one was difficult to disprove. Alexander was haled into the Mohammedan court, and the governor praised him highly for his wisdom in converting to the beliefs of Islam. He was promised great rewards as his portion, especially if he could get some of his fellow Dominicans interested in the faith of the prophet.

Alexander protested indignantly that he had never been in the slightest danger of professing Islam, that he was a Christian and proud of it. The governor therefore informed him that he must be treated as an apostate from Islam. Alexander realized that he was bound for the sacrifice no matter what happened, but he wanted the record kept straight. "I have never believed in your prophet," he said. "I have never believed in the Koran, nor in any of its teachings!"

"This man has abandoned the faith of Mohammed," said the governor. "He has blasphemed. He is guilty of death." Without further discussion, the unhappy Dominican was taken off to prison, still protesting his orthodoxy. The governor sent soldiers to bring the Dominican prior and two archbishops. "Why did you harbor this traitor?" he demanded of them. "Our law commands us to kill anyone who abandons the faith of Mohammed, and you had no right to shelter him from his just punishment. We could seize all of you and put you to death for this treason."

The prior and the two visiting archbishops held up stoutly under the governor's polished trickery. They protested that Alexander was an excellent Christian and never had been anything else. As soon as they were released, they sent word to Alexander to be of good courage, that everyone would pray that he could bear up through the ordeal ahead. They called the Christians of the island to keep vigil in the churches, to pray for those who were to die.

Alexander, brought once more before the court, was given three days to reflect on whether or not he would proclaim himself a faithful son of the Prophet. "I do not need three days," he said. "I can give you a definite answer right now. I am a Christian, and have never been a Mohammedan. Your prophet is a prophet of lies, your law proceeds from the father of lies." His bold words met a chorus of fanatical screams from the populace already incited to murder by the apostate. "Avenge your prophet!" cried the governor, and the crowds pressed in until it was necessary to put Alexander in a dungeon to keep him alive until the governor's plans were complete.

Alexander was condemned to be burned at the stake. When he was led out to die, the maddened crowds pressed in as if they would tear him to pieces. No one listened to his protesting that he was and always had been a Christian. When he was tied to the stake, the governor said to him: "Lift one finger to show that you believe in the God of Mohammed, the one true God, and your life will be spare." Bleeding and stiff from torture, the Dominican raised three fingers and cried out: "I believe in God the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit."

The fire would not touch the martyr as he stood suffering at the stake. Wind blew the flames away, or put them out; faggots fell and rolled away from him. With a maddened roar, the crowd fought through its guard and hacked him to pieces. Then someone tossed gunpowder on the fire and, in the sight of 40,000 witnesses, Alexander Baldrati a Lugo gave up his valiant spirit (Benedictines, Dorcy).

SOURCE : http://www.saintpatrickdc.org/ss/0210.shtml

Blessed Alexander of Lugo

Also known as

• Alexander Baldrati
• Alexander Baldrati a Lugo

Memorial

• 10 February

Profile

Alexander joined the Dominicans in Lugo, Italy in 1612, then studied in Faenza, Naples, and the convent of Our Lady of the Arch. Priest, assigned to Bologna, Italy soon after ordination. He worked himself so hard, in pulpit and with the needy, that he ruined his health and had to be reassigned to Venice, Italy to recover.

As part of his recovery, and to get him away from the over-work that had crushed him, he was sent by sea to the east. The ship stopped on the Greek island of Chios, and Alexander took the opportunity to preach to the locals. An apostate Christian there took the opportunity to stir up sentiment against Alexander, going to the Muslim authorities and swearing that Alexander had converted to Islam. Alexander was dragged to court, interrogated, and offered in rewards if he would bring other Dominicans to Islam. When he denied that he had ever converted to Islam, the court convicted him of being an apostate Muslim, and charged the Christian authorities of harbouring an apostate.

The archbishop and the Dominicans swore that Alexander had always been a Christian. When questioned again, Alexander denounced Islam, Mohammed, and the Koran. After an brief imprisonment, he was martyred by the Muslim authorities and local citizens.

Born

• 1595 in Lugo, Italy

Died

• hacked to pieces and burned at the stake in 1645 on Chios Island, Greece

SOURCE : http://catholicsaints.info/blessed-alexander-of-lugo/

Blessed Alexander of Lugo, Dominican Martyr

Giacomo Baldrati was born in Lugo, Italy, on September 26, 1595. His parents (Cesare Baldrati and Lucia de Bianchi) supported his boyhood piety, and he joined the local Dominicans on January 15, 1612, taking the name “Alessandro”, or Alexander.

The Order sent him to study in Faenza and Naples. The friar was then ordained a priest and sent to the University of Bologna as a teacher, where people said he devoted half his time to God and half to his neighbor, leaving no time for himself. He collapsed into sickness from overwork and was sent to Venice to recover.

The interesting bit is that he may have ended up with some kind of mental illness too, which is very unusual in a saint. Some saints are very eccentric, but they tend to be saner than most. Alessandro had been known to be a particularly cheerful person all his life, but now he became depressed and prone to wild anger. He also began to fear his fellow friars (some of whom apparently teased him at this point) as persecutors. His biographer from the 1700’s from Chios, Leone Allacci, says that he went to Venice without permission from his superiors, and that he definitely was on the run when he took ship from Venice to Constantinople, and from there to Pera. He reported in at the Dominican friary at Pera. They decided to send him to Smyrna, because the archbishop of Edessa and co-adjutor of Smyrna was a particularly wise and holy Dominican, Venerable Giacinto Subiani di Arezzo. Friar Alexander was filled with fear again, but the monks of Constantinople assured him that Smyrna was “not a place where they beat up foreigners.”

Things must have gone well in Smyrna, because Archbishop Giacinto decided to send him to the small monastery of St. Sebastian on the Greek island of Chios — which was then part of the Ottoman Empire, and ruled by Muslims. With no other duties, Friar Alexander decided to spend all day preaching in the little Christian towns. Archbishop Giacinto later testified that he harvested “abundant fruit of souls” among his fellow Christians.

Then his Italian brothers sent a letter inviting him to come back. Friar Alessandro had a relapse into his fears, and was sure the letters were a trap. At times he seemed to go catatonic. At other times, he ran around town, crying out his sadness and fear. Strangely, he kept saying that people were going to burn him at the stake.

Politics and human drama ensued. Since a couple of prominent churchmen (including Archbishop Giacinto) arrived at Chios at about the same time to change ships, some local Muslims spread rumors that the Christians were planning to take back the island. Taking advantage of the hostile atmosphere, a guy named Aga Cuzaim, a Chios Muslim who had once been Christian and who disliked Friar Alexander (nobody knows why) decided to report him to the local Ottoman authorities as an apostate Muslim.

And of course we all know that the sharia law penalty for forsaking Islam is death.

Under the Ottoman Empire, sharia law ruled in most matters. Alexander was hauled into court by the Muslim governor. Here’s the strange thing. Now that he was really being persecuted and was really in danger of his life, Friar Alexander became himself again, fearless and articulate as a Dominican preacher should be. He protested again and again that he was Christian, had never been anything but Christian, and never intended to be anything but Christian. (One source seems to think that he may have apostatized during his screaming fits, some of which happened near Cuzaim’s house; but Allatios doesn’t seem to believe it.)

The Dominicans and the visiting churchmen were threatened for having concealed an apostate Muslim. They fired back that Friar Alexander was a Christian and never had been anything else. Eventually they were let go, and sent messages to Alexander to stand firm. Archbishop Giacinto ordered all his churches to keep a 24-hour prayer vigil for their fragile brother.

When Alexander was brought to court again, the judge told him that he would be executed for apostasy unless he embraced Islam again. He told them once again that he was a Christian who had never been anything else. He also told them for good measure, “Your Prophet is a prophet of lies; your law comes from the Father of Lies.” He was almost lynched then and there. But he was not afraid; he was calm and happy to die for Jesus’ Name, and professorial in his defense of Christian doctrine.

After all his fears, and possibly because they were known, he was indeed condemned to be burned at the stake for his “blasphemy.” He wasn’t even shaken, now that it was real. So they threw in some torture over the next few days. Prisoners and guards agreed that Friar Alexander fasted the whole time, prayed prostrate in his cell as was one of the Dominican customs, never complained, and was constantly penitent over his sins but in control of himself. When they came to execute him, he was serene and calm. He was led through the streets as a frightening example; but the streets were lined with Christians eager to honor their martyr, Catholics and Orthodox alike.

After he had been led out and bound to the stake with chains, the governor tempted him one last time. “Lift one finger to show that you believe in the God of Mohammed, the one true God, and your life will be spared.”

Alexander lifted three fingers. “The One God is the Holy Trinity!” Then he blessed the crowd with those fingers, “In the Name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit!”

They lighted the fire — but the flames refused to touch him. They added wood, and the wood rolled away from him.

The Muslim crowd shot him, hacked him to pieces, then blew up his body with gunpowder. It was February 10, 1645.

Relics were saved from the mess and were sent around the world by the Dominicans, including to his hometown of Lugo.

February 10 is his memorial. His symbol is a martyr’s palm and a chain.

Blessed Alexander of Lugo, pray for us!

Here’s his biography:

Vita e morte del p.f. Alessandro Baldrati da Lugo, fatto morire nella citta di Scio da’ Turchi per la fede cattolica li 10. di febraro 1645. by Leone Allacci, Rome: Francisco Moneta, 1657. And here it is on Google Books.

The author is also known as Leo Allatius or Leo Allatios (1586-1669), and he was indeed a Greek born on Chios. He was also one of the Vatican Library’s head librarians, from 1661-1669, and was responsible for a lot of its Greek and Syriac acquisitions. On the side, he was a trained physician. He fought hard to heal the schism between Catholics and Orthodox, and wrote several important works about it. He translated St. Methodius of Olympus’ Banquet of the Ten Virgins into Latin, and refuted the urban legend of Pope Joan by consulting Greek records. He is a major source for opera history, since he listed all the operas put on in a city in his book Drammaturgia. He also wrote about Greek folklore in his De Graecorum hodie quorundam opinationibus. Most of his 150 volumes of manuscripts have never been published… but he published and edited hundreds of books during his lifetime. So yeah, Leo was an interesting guy.

SOURCE : https://suburbanbanshee.wordpress.com/2016/09/24/blessed-alexander-of-lugo-dominican-martyr/