ALEXANDER I, SAINT

died c. 115, /119, Rome?; feast day May 3 fifth pope after St. Peter and successor to St. Evaristus. His 10-year rule (105115 or 109119) is attested by Pope St. Eusebius (309/310). Some Catholic writers ascribe to him the introduction of holy water and the custom of mixing sacramental wine with water, and he may have made additions to the liturgy. It is believed he suffered martyrdom, possibly by decapitation, under the Roman emperor Trajan or Hadrian. He has sometimes been confused with St. Alexander, one of three Roman martyrs buried along the Via Nomentana. Alexander's jailer, St. Quirinus, and his daughter St. Balbina are said to have been converted by him.