Alexander (Alessandro) Sauli (15 February 1534 – 11 October 1592) was an Italian priest who is called the "Apostle of Corsica". He is a saint of the Catholic Church. In 1571, he was appointed by Pius V to the ancient see of Aléria, Corsica, where he rebuilt churches, founded colleges and seminaries, and improved the presence of the church in the region despite opposition from corsairs.
In 1591, he was made Bishop of Pavia, and died at Calosso the following year. He left a number of works, chiefly catechetical. He was beatified by Benedict XIV, 23 April 1742, and canonized by Pope Pius X, 11 December 1904. His feast is celebrated on October 11.
Sauli was born in Milan, on February 15, 1534, to an illustrious Lombard family. His parents were Dominic and Tommasina Spinola Sauli. His father was Marquis of Pozzuolo in the territory of Tortona and an assistant to Duke Francesco II Sforza. The marquis was esteemed by the emperor, who was then president of the High Court of Milan. Both of his parents were from ancient and noble families of Genoa. This social status offered Alexander a great opportunity for a prestigious and brilliant career. He was well-educated at Pavia. In 1551, at the age of 17, Sauli became a page at the court of Emperor Charles V in Milan.
At the age of seventeen, Alexander asked to be admitted to the Congregation of the Barnabites. At this time the congregation was experiencing the precariousness of its beginnings, extreme poverty, and harsh trials. It had been expelled from the Republic of Venice only two months before. The Fathers advised Alexander to consider other religious congregations, such as the Dominicans, the Franciscans, and the Capuchins, rich with members outstanding in holiness and wisdom.
On Saturday, 17 May 1551, the Vigil of Pentecost, the Barnabites asked young Sauli to carry a large cross through the streets of Milan, dressed as an imperial page, and to preach in public about the love for God and the renunciation of the world. This would give them an indication whether or not his choice was authentic. With the heavy cross on his shoulders, he crossed the city. When he reached the square called Piazza dei Mercanti, he asked a vendor for his stand. He erected the cross on it, and with great fervor he addressed the crowd about the worship of God and the love of neighbor. When Sauli returned to the Barnabite residence after performing this charge, he was received as a postulant.
At first Sauli was assigned to help the sacristans. On the feast of the Assumption of Mary, August 15, 1551, Sauli received the religious habit and started his three years of novitiate. At a subsequent Chapter Sauli was criticized for ineptitude in his work in the sacristy, his bourgeois attitude, his lukewarmness, and many other things. The minutes were written by a Father Raimondi, who may have disliked Sauli's somewhat open and easy going nature.
In October 1552, he took part in the many sessions during which the first Constitutions of the Order were discussed and finally approved. During the second year of novitiate, Alexander was allowed to follow regular theological studies at the Franciscan Friary of St. Mary of Peace, not far from St. Barnabas. He professed his vows on September 29, 1554. He continued his formation program until April 26, 1556, when the Fathers felt he was mature enough to be removed from the discipline of the novitiate, and was appointed the community librarian. On December 22, 1554, he received the subdiaconate and ordination to the diaconate on June 8, 1555. Due to his young age he had to wait for a special dispensation for the priestly ordination, which took place on March 21, 1556, when he was 22.
When the Grand Duke Gian Galeazzo Sforza became seriously ill, his mother, Bona of Savoy, and his wife, Isabella of Naples, made a vow that if he should get well, they would build a church in Pavia in honor of the miraculous image of the Virgin Mary painted on a wall of the Canepanova palace. The duke recovered, and the church, designed by Donato Bramante was built. The Barnabites were approached to staff it. This would be the first house of the order after the establishment of the motherhouse of St. Barnabas in 1547. Since Sauli was very familiar with the city and the university, he was assigned there as a preacher, and was soon joined by his two masters, Besozzi and Omodei.
Sauli dedicated himself to pastoral work and encouraged frequent communion and the Forty Hours devotion, He founded schools for religious instructions, offered the people lectures on the Letters of St. Paul, and organized groups at the university. Students asked Sauli for help in their studies. In response he created something of an independent department called an "academy". On February 2, 1560, Sauli celebrated the opening Mass of the Holy Spirit and started weekly conferences on Paul the Apostle and daily repetitions of the university subjects which were divided in three groups: theology, philosophy (or medicine) and law. The teaching was geared to the intelligence and ability of each student, widening their interest to other subjects. He gave ample space to disputes, knowing how well the students would prepare themselves, thereby acquiring self-confidence while clarifying the ideas they were presenting.
Seeing the success that Sauli was having, the Barnabites did not hesitate to open a house of studies for their seminarians, although open to other seminarians and lay people as well. Sauli gave daily classes in theology and philosophy. His method again was innovative. In presenting Aristotle he used the original Greek version avoiding the poor Latin translation of the time and he himself prepared a lexicon to better understand the terminology. In theology, Thomas Aquinas was a requirement, and the students used to say that, if the text of the Summa were to get lost, it was no problem because Sauli knew it by heart. Aquinas was integrated with Bonaventure, the Church Fathers, especially John Chrysostom and Gregory the Great, and contemporary authors such as Savonarola.
How innovative Sauli was is shown by the subsidiary subjects that he introduced, such as geometry which "makes the heart attentive and orderly", and law, so that the students could protect themselves in a world engulfed in never ending legal battles. For the Law of the Church, it was Sauli who suggested to his friend Marcantonio Cucci the preparation of a systematic and well organized exposition of all church laws which was published in 1565 after being revised by him.
Until now Sauli had no official degree of any kind, although he received the Bachelor's degree through a public dispute that he held, between 30 May and 1 June 1560, on 150 theological theses. This was dedicated to Pierpaolo Arrigoni, then the President of the Senate of Milan. The rector of the "Artists" (philosophers and doctors), had offered him a chair of philosophy at the university, but the superior, Besozzi, declined without even notifying Sauli. The Barnabites were concerned that such a position would lead to vain-glory, and to the ruin of their characteristic humility. In any event, in 1562 Sauli had to substitute for Philip Zaffiro, professor of philosophy, lecturing for a semester on the second book of the De Anima. His success and the public’s demand convinced the Fathers to allow him to pursue an official degree.
The Academic Senate dispensed him from the private examination, usually done to test the preparation of a candidate, and for the public exam they allowed him only half a day instead of the customary full day. The subjects selected at random for his exam were: in philosophy, The unity of the creating principle by Peter Lombard and, in theology, the De sacramentis in genere. As a sign of distinction, the examiners were only senior professors. It was his mentor Anthony Aosta, Minister General of the Conventual Franciscan friars, who bestowed on him the doctoral insignia according to tradition: books at first entrusted to him closed, and then opened to symbolize an ongoing need for further studies and renewal, the black hat, symbol of theology, and a golden ring on the right hand, followed by the kiss of peace and a blessing.