Alexians

Catholic religious congregation

The Alexians, officially named as the Congregation of Alexian Brothers ( Congregatio Fratrum Cellitarum seu Alexianorum), abbreviated C. F. A., is a Catholic lay religious congregation of Pontifical Right for men specifically devoted to caring for the sick which has its origin in Europe at the time of the Black Death. They follow the Augustinian rule.

The Alexians trace their origin to the early 12th century Beghards, male counterparts of the Beguines, laywomen who followed a devout style of life in a limited degree of common life. The men did not get much attention until they made a great contribution to history in the city of Mechelen, in the Duchy of Brabant (in central Flanders, now Belgium), some time in the 14th century, during the terrible ravages of the Black Death. Some laymen united under the guidance of a man named Tobias to succor the plague stricken without taking any vows or adopting monasticism. One of their most obvious activities was caring for those stricken with the bubonic plague, The brothers sold Twyford Abbey in 1988, and the abbey, which is a Grade II listed building, now lies derelict.

The Immaculate Conception Province (the American Province) sponsors Alexian Brothers Health System, which provides services in acute care, residential elderly care, retirement centers, and AIDS ministry in Illinois, Missouri, Wisconsin, Tennessee, and also outside the US in the Philippines and Hungary. On 1 January 2012 the Alexian Brothers Health System became part of St. Louis based Ascension Health, the nation's largest Catholic and non profit health system. The contemporary British houses in London and Manchester, as well as the Irish ones in Dublin and Limerick, include facilities for the elderly sick and physically handicapped through a nursing home and Day Centre; an AIDS ministry; care and rehabilitation of homeless men; and support for people suffering from mental illness. On the European continent the contemporary German branch has houses in Aachen, Krefeld, Malseneck, Münster and Twistringen. In Belgium they have centres in Boechout, Tienen, Grimbergen and Henri Chapelle, where they provide psychiatric services.