Pope Sixtus I (42 – 124/126/128), also spelled Xystus, a Roman of Greek descent, was the

bishop of Rome A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ...

from c. 115 to his death. He succeeded

Alexander I Alexander I may refer to: * Alexander I of Macedon, king of Macedon 495–454 BC * Alexander I of Epirus (370–331 BC), king of Epirus * Pope Alexander I (died 115), early bishop of Rome * Pope Alexander I of Alexandria (died 320s), patriarch of A ...

and was in turn succeeded by

Telesphorus Telesphorus can refer to: * Telesphorus (general), 4th century BC general in ancient Greece * Pope Telesphorus (died c. 137), Catholic pope and Catholic and Orthodox saint * Telesphorus of Cosenza, a name assumed by a 14th century pseudo-prophet d ...

. His feast is celebrated on 6 April.

Name

The oldest documents use the spelling Xystus (from the Greek ξυστός, ''xystos'', "shaved") in reference to the first three popes of that name. Pope Sixtus I was also the sixth Pope after Peter, leading to questions as to whether the name "Sixtus" is derived from ''sextus'',

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through ...

for "sixth". PBS video, "Saints and Sinners". The "Xystus" mentioned in the

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

Canon of the Mass The Canon of the Mass ( la, Canon Missæ), also known as the Canon of the Roman Mass and in the Mass of Paul VI as the Roman Canon or Eucharistic Prayer I, is the oldest anaphora used in the Roman Rite of Mass. The name ''Canon Missæ'' was used in ...

Xystus II Pope Sixtus II ( el, Πάπας Σίξτος Β΄), also written as Pope Xystus II, was bishop of Rome from 31 August 257 until his death on 6 August 258. He was martyred along with seven deacons, including Lawrence of Rome, during the persecutio ...

, not Xystus I.

Biography

The

Holy See The Holy See ( lat, Sancta Sedes, ; it, Santa Sede ), also called the See of Rome, Petrine See or Apostolic See, is the jurisdiction of the Pope in his role as the bishop of Rome. It includes the apostolic episcopal see of the Diocese of R ...

's ''

Annuario Pontificio The ''Annuario Pontificio'' ( Italian for ''Pontifical Yearbook'') is the annual directory of the Holy See of the Catholic Church. It lists the popes in chronological order and all officials of the Holy See's departments. It also provides name ...

'' (2012) identifies him as a

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: * Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lett ...

by birth, who served from 117 or 119 to 126 or 128. His father's name was Pastor. According to the ''

Liberian Catalogue {{Short description, 4th-century list of Christian popes The ''Liberian Catalogue'' ( la, Catalogus Liberianus) is a list of the bishops of Rome from Peter to Liberius (died 366). For each bishop, the list gives the lengths of his episcopate, the ...

'' of popes, he served the

Church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a building for Christian religious activities * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian communal worship * Chri ...

during the reign of

Hadrian Hadrian (; la, Caesar Trâiānus Hadriānus ; 24 January 76 – 10 July 138) was Roman emperor from 117 to 138. He was born in Italica (close to modern Santiponce in Spain), a Roman ''municipium'' founded by Italic settlers in Hispania ...

"from the consulate of Niger and Apronianus until that of Verus III and Ambibulus", that is, from 117 to 126.

Eusebius Eusebius of Caesarea (; grc-gre, Εὐσέβιος ; 260/265 – 30 May 339), also known as Eusebius Pamphilus (from the grc-gre, Εὐσέβιος τοῦ Παμφίλου), was a Greek historian of Christianity, exegete, and Chris ...

states in his ''

Chronicon In historiography, a ''chronicon'' is a type of chronicle or annals. Examples are: * ''Chronicon'' (Eusebius) * ''Chronicon'' (Jerome) *'' Chronicon Abbatiae de Evesham'' *''Chronicon Burgense'' *'' Chronicon Ambrosianum'' *'' Chronicon Compostellan ...

'' that Sixtus I reigned from 114 to 124, while his '' Historia Ecclesiastica'', using a different catalogue of popes, claims his rule from 114 to 128. All authorities agree that he reigned about ten years. Like most of his predecessors, Sixtus I was believed to have been buried near Peter's grave on

Vatican Hill Vatican Hill (; la, Mons Vaticanus; it, Colle Vaticano) is a hill located across the Tiber river from the traditional seven hills of Rome, that also gave the name of Vatican City. It is the location of St. Peter's Basilica. Etymology The a ...

, although there are differing traditions concerning where his body lies today. In Alife, there is a Romanesque crypt, which houses the relics of Pope Sixtus I, brought there by Rainulf III.

Alban Butler Alban Butler (13 October 171015 May 1773) was an English Roman Catholic priest and hagiographer. Biography Alban Butler was born in 1710, at Appletree, Aston le Walls, Northamptonshire, the second son of Simon Butler, Esq. His father died when ...

(''Lives of the Saints'', 6 April) states that

Clement X Pope Clement X ( la, Clemens X; it, Clemente X; 13 July 1590 – 22 July 1676), born Emilio Bonaventura Altieri, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 29 April 1670 to his death in July 1676. Elected pope at a ...

gave some of his relics to

Cardinal de Retz Cardinal or The Cardinal may refer to: Animals * Cardinal (bird) or Cardinalidae, a family of North and South American birds **'' Cardinalis'', genus of cardinal in the family Cardinalidae **'' Cardinalis cardinalis'', or northern cardinal, t ...

, who placed them in the Abbey of Saint Michael in

Lorraine Lorraine , also , , ; Lorrain: ''Louréne''; Lorraine Franconian: ''Lottringe''; german: Lothringen ; lb, Loutrengen; nl, Lotharingen is a cultural and historical region in Northeastern France, now located in the administrative region of Gra ...

Liturgical codification

Sixtus I instituted several Catholic liturgical and administrative traditions. According to the ''

Liber Pontificalis The ''Liber Pontificalis'' (Latin for 'pontifical book' or ''Book of the Popes'') is a book of biographies of popes from Saint Peter until the 15th century. The original publication of the ''Liber Pontificalis'' stopped with Pope Adrian II (86 ...

'' (ed. Duchesne, I.128), he passed the following three ordinances: * that none but sacred ministers are allowed to touch the sacred vessels; * that bishops who have been summoned to the Holy See shall, upon their return, not be received by their diocese except on presenting Apostolic letters; * that after the

Preface __NOTOC__ A preface () or proem () is an introduction to a book or other literary work written by the work's author. An introductory essay written by a different person is a '' foreword'' and precedes an author's preface. The preface often close ...

in the

Mass Mass is an intrinsic property of a body. It was traditionally believed to be related to the quantity of matter in a physical body, until the discovery of the atom and particle physics. It was found that different atoms and different ele ...

, the priest shall recite the ''

Sanctus The Sanctus ( la, Sanctus, "Holy") is a hymn in Christian liturgy. It may also be called the ''epinikios hymnos'' ( el, ἐπινίκιος ὕμνος, "Hymn of Victory") when referring to the Greek rendition. In Western Christianity, th ...

'' with the people.

References

Bibliography

* Benedict XVI. ''The Roman Martyrology''. Gardners Books, 2007. . * Chapman, John. ''Studies on the Early Papacy''. Port Washington, NY: Kennikat Press, 1971. . * Fortescue, Adrian, and Scott M. P. Reid. ''The Early Papacy: To the Synod of Chalcedon in 451''. Southampton: Saint Austin Press, 1997. . * Jowett, George F. ''The Drama of the Lost Disciples''. London: Covenant Pub. Co, 1968. * Loomis, Louise Ropes. ''The Book of Popes'' (''Liber Pontificalis''). Merchantville, NJ: Evolution Publishing. . *

External links