May 18--St. John I, Pope and Martyr

 

St. John I

“Habemus Papam!”  At the time of this writing, May of 2025, the conclave of cardinals in Rome elected Robert Prevost, of Chicago, Illinois, U.S.A., Pope Leo XIV.  We pray for him and his successful tenure as 267th pope and shepherd of the Catholic Church.  Well and good!

We also honor St. John I, pope and martyr, who was elected in AD 523 and was martyred in AD 526 at the hands of a heretic king.  St. Martin I was the last pope to be martyred in AD 653.  Nonetheless, every pope is the successor to Peter, the Rock, who was told by Jesus:  “‘Amen, amen, I say to you, when you were younger, you used to dress yourself and go where you wanted; but when you grow old, you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will dress you and lead you where you do not want to go.’  He said this signifying by what kind of death he would glorify God. And when he had said this, he said to him, ‘Follow me.’”

Pope St. John I was martyred because he succeeded in accomplishing what Theodoric, the Arian King of Italy, requested of him:  accommodations with the Byzantine emperor to avoid persecution of the Arians in the East.  Such was St. John’s success that Theodoric suspected him of conspiracy with the emperor and thus imprisoned him upon his return to Italy with the favorable news!  St. John died in prison.  

Every pope is called to witness the faith.  Pope Leo XIV stated: “I also want to … walk together with you, as a united Church always seeking peace, justice, always trying to work as men and women faithful to Jesus Christ, without fear, to proclaim the Gospel, to be missionaries.”  St. John I, pray for us!

August 7--St. Sixtus II, Pope and Martyr, and Companions, Martyrs

Livre Fresques italiennes de la Renaissance, 1470-1510, de Steffi Röttgen et Antonio Quattrone. Paris : Citadelles & Mazenod, 1997. This work is in the public domain in its country of origin and other countries and areas where the copyright term is the author's life plus 100 years or fewer.

From the time of St. Peter to the legalization of Christianity by Emperor Constantine I in A.D. 313, 27 of the 31 popes were martyred! That is a rate of 87%. Talk about “most dangerous jobs!” And these were not ordinary executions by today’s standards. The popes were crucified, beheaded, tied to an anchor and tossed into the sea, worked to death, and killed by the sword, to name a few of the methods. And yet these men were willing to be successors to Peter to maintain the leadership of the Church.

Today’s saints were no different! Pope St. Sixtus II was pope from 257-258, being martyred on August 6, less than a year after his election. His companions were deacons of the Church. The most famous deacon at this time, St. Lawrence, was martyred four days later and has his own feast day. Pope St. Sixtus was arrested while saying Mass in the cemetery of St. Callistus under the persecution of the Emperor Valerian and executed. The following epitaph was placed on his tomb by Pope St. Damasus I:

“At the time when the sword pierced the bowels of the Mother, I, buried here, taught as Pastor the Word of God; when suddenly the soldiers rushed in and dragged me from the chair. The faithful offered their necks to the sword, but as soon as the Pastor saw the ones who wished to rob him of the palm (of martyrdom) he was the first to offer himself and his own head, not tolerating that the (pagan) frenzy should harm the others. Christ, who gives recompense, made manifest the Pastor's merit, preserving unharmed the flock.” We owe much to our shepherds. They are willing to undergo suffering for the sake of their sheep. Let us pray for our popes!

February 22—The Chair of St. Peter the Apostle

How is it that a chair gets a feast?  As with many things in the Catholic Church, there is symbolism behind giving a feast to a chair.  Chairs can represent many things:  a role in a discussion as in, “pull up a chair”; the authority of a judge as in the judge’s bench; the responsibility of a monarch as in the king’s throne.  But for the Church, a chair represents the role of the bishop as priest, prophet, and servant.  Each bishop has his cathedral.  Cathedra is Latin for chair.  And in the cathedral is the bishop’s chair where he presides.

The Chair of St. Peter the Apostle then stands for the authority of the pope, a singular mark of the Roman Catholic Church.  “The Chair represents [the pope’s] mission as guide of the entire People of God.  Celebrating the ‘Chair’ of Peter means attributing a strong spiritual significance to it and recognizing it as a privileged sign of the love of God” (Pope Benedict XVI).  He has many titles which indicate his roles and duties:  Bishop of Rome, Vicar of Jesus Christ, Successor of the Prince of the Apostles, Supreme Pontiff of the Universal Church, Primate of Italy,  Archbishop and Metropolitan of the Roman Province, Sovereign of the Vatican City State, and Servant of the servants of God.  The pope has been given this authority for the sake of the Church, for the People of God.  His authority as pope is one that, ultimately, is meant for our salvation.  And so we pray for our pope, Pope Francis, that he may guide us by the Spirit of God to walk in the way of Jesus to become united with the Father in heaven.

June 29--Sts. Peter and Paul, Apostles

It is rare when a saint gets more than one day in the liturgical calendar.  The Blessed Virgin Mary has numerous feast days throughout the year.  St. John the Baptist has two days and St. Joseph has two days, but Sts. Peter and Paul have three each, including one day for the both of them.  Their importance in the early Church forever links them together.  They both died in Rome during the persecution of the emperor, Nero.  Before that, they both worked together to bring Christianity to the Gentiles as shown in the Acts of the Apostles at the Council of Jerusalem.  Both wrote epistles, Peter had two, Paul had 13.  They were both apostles, Peter as one of the original twelve and Paul as one specially chosen by Jesus when he was on the road to Damascus.  They are the main protagonists in the Acts of the Apostles, Peter in the first part and Paul in the second.

Both Peter and Paul shared in the ministry of spreading the Good News of Jesus Christ.  Peter was the leader of the entire Church community, the shepherd appointed by Jesus to watch over his flock.  Paul was the founder of numerous communities in Asia Minor and Greece, including most of the places to whom he wrote epistles.

When portrayed in art, Peter is often shown as holding keys, recalling the passage from Mt. 16:19—“I will give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven.”  This symbolized the role of Peter as pope, the one who is the visible sign of the unity of the Church.  Paul is often portrayed in art with a sword, which is how he was martyred, or a book, symbolizing his letters in the New Testament.

Both Peter and Paul are essential for us today.  Peter’s role as shepherd-pope reminds us of the importance of the Magisterium and the need to follow its teaching.  Paul’s role as missionary-letter writer reminds us of the importance of Scripture and Tradition in following Jesus.  Both remind us of the importance of witnessing to the faith in Jesus.  Since both were martyred in Rome, Peter, according to tradition on an upside-down cross, and Paul by beheading, this shows the primacy of Rome and her bishop, the pope, in leading the Church throughout the world.