Congregation under patronage of Saint Alexius of Edessa, founded by Tobias at Mechlin, Brabant, in the 15th century, to nurse the sick and bury the dead during the Black Death. They became an order under the Rule of Saint Augustine in 1469. The mother-house is Aix-la-Chapelle. They have 18 houses in the United States, England, Germany, and Belgium, and are in charge of various hospitals and asylums.