Seven Holy Founders of the Servite Order

Their story

In the early 1200s, Florence was a rich and busy city, full of trade and also torn by bitter political feuds. Seven men from respected merchant families belonged to a confraternity there devoted to honoring the Blessed Virgin Mary. Some of them had been married, and all of them were successful in business. Over time they felt Mary calling them to give up their comfortable lives and serve God alone. Around 1233 the seven left their businesses and homes and went to live together in a simple house outside the city, praying and doing penance. So many visitors came to them that they moved to the slopes of Monte Senario, north of Florence, where they built a small hermitage. There they lived in poverty, prayer and community, and they took the name Servants of Mary, or Servites. They adopted the Rule of St. Augustine, and the Church later approved their order. The Servites became known for their devotion to Our Lady of Sorrows and for meditating on the sufferings Mary shared with her Son. The order grew and spread across Europe and later throughout the world. One of the seven, St. Alexis Falconieri, lived to be very old and died on February 17, 1310, which is why their feast is kept on this day. Pope Leo XIII canonized all seven together in 1888. Their story shows that holiness is often found together, in friends who help one another follow Christ.