Alexander Sauli

Alexander Sauli was born in Milan on 15 February 1534 to a noble family of Genoese origin settled in the Duchy of Milan. Formed in the humanist and Catholic-reform milieu of sixteenth-century Lombardy, he received a careful education in letters and philosophy. In 1551, at about seventeen, he entered the Congregation of Clerics Regular of St. Paul, known as the Barnabites, an order founded earlier in the century by Saint Anthony Mary Zaccaria for preaching, catechesis, and the reform of Christian life. He was ordained a priest in 1556. As a Barnabite he became known as a preacher, a professor of philosophy and theology, and a religious of marked personal austerity. In 1567 he was elected superior general of the congregation while still a young man.

His learning and reputation for holiness drew him into the circle of Saint Charles Borromeo, Archbishop of Milan, who regarded Sauli as a collaborator in applying the reforms of the Council of Trent. In 1570 Pope Pius V named him bishop of Aleria in Corsica, a see then marked by poverty, ruined churches, poorly formed clergy, and social disorder under Genoese rule. Sauli accepted with reluctance and was consecrated bishop by Charles Borromeo. For some twenty years he lived as a missionary bishop on the island. He rebuilt churches, including his cathedral, established schools and a seminary, repeatedly visited remote parishes under difficult conditions, worked to restrain vendetta and banditry, and devoted himself to the poor, especially in times of famine. This long pastoral labor is the basis of his traditional title as the Apostle of Corsica.

In 1591 Pope Gregory XIV transferred him to the diocese of Pavia. Sauli left Corsica unwillingly after more than two decades there. In Pavia he continued visitation, preaching, and care for the needy. In October 1592, during a pastoral visitation, he fell ill at the village of Calosso and died on 11 October 1592. His body was taken to Pavia and buried in the cathedral.

After his death a cult of veneration developed, encouraged by the memory of his austere life and by reports of intercession. Pope Benedict XIV beatified him on 23 April 1741. Pope Pius X canonized him on 11 December 1904. His feast is kept on 11 October. He is remembered especially in Corsica and within the Barnabite order as a model bishop of the Catholic Reformation.