Give me the scoop on Severinus. Severinus, a Roman, was likely an old man by the time he reached the papacy. He took the Chair of Peter on May 28, 640, but reigned a mere 66 days, dying in office on August 2. One of his sole acts as pope was building the apse in the old …
Give me the scoop on Honorius I. Breaking the trend of popes taking foreeeever to take office, Honorius I was elected just two days after the death of Boniface V. In his almost 13 years as pope, Honorius was plenty busy. Dwindling Byzantine power in the West meant that the pope had to take charge …
Give me the scoop on Boniface V. Boniface was a native of Naples, but little else is known about him prior to his papacy. He was elected nearly a year after the death of St. Adeodatus I, taking office two days before Christmas in 619. After that, Boniface was relatively busy. He decided that those …
Give me the scoop on Adeodatus I. Not much is known about St. Adeodatus I’s early life or his time prior to being pope. He was elected amidst turmoil in Italy, taking office on October 19, 615. He was well known as a man of “charity and zeal,” given his care for those afflicted by …
Give me the scoop on Boniface. Boniface IV’s father was a doctor named Johannes, and he was born in the province of Valeria in the Byzantine Empire. Prior to being pope, he served, like the Boniface before him, as a deacon under Gregory the Great. Confusion remains as to which Boniface Gregory liked best. He …
Give me the scoop on Boniface III. Boniface was a Roman, and was the son of John Cataadioce. Prior to being pope, he served as St. Gregory the Great’s representative in Constantinople. After Pope Sabinian’s death, almost a year went by before Boniface III was consecrated as the next pope on February 19, 607. Some …
St. Epiphanius, Bishop of Cyprus (403 A.D.) Something strange is happening – there is a great silence on earth today, a great silence and stillness. The whole earth keeps silence because the King is asleep. The earth trembled and is still because God has fallen asleep in the flesh and He has raised up all …
Homily on Holy Saturday: The Lord Descends into Hades Read More »
Give me the scoop on Sabinian. Sabinian was born in the region of Blera, northwest of Rome. He first appears on the scene in 593, at which point St. Gregory the Great sent him to Constantinople as nuncio. The trip, to dissuade the patriarch from calling himself “universal patriarch,” seems to have been a failure, …
“The proof of love is in the works. Where love exists, it works great things. But when it ceases to act, it ceases to exist.” – Pope St. Gregory the Great Give me the scoop on Gregory the Great. Born to an aristocratic Roman family around 540, St. Gregory was a public servant into his …
Give me the scoop on Pelagius II. Pelagius II was born in Rome around the year 520, but appears to have been of Gothic descent. Elected on November 26, 579 after a vacancy of four months, Pelagius immediately had to deal with the continuing Lombard invasion of Italy. His petitions for help from both the …