Pope Adeodatus I (570 – 8 November 618), also called Deodatus I or Deusdedit, was the
bishop of Rome from 19 October 615 to his death. He was the first priest to be elected pope since
John II in 533. The first use of lead seals or ''
bullae'' on papal documents is attributed to him. His feast day is 8 November.
Biography
Adeodatus was born in
Rome, the son of a
subdeacon
Subdeacon (or sub-deacon) is a minor order or ministry for men in various branches of Christianity. The subdeacon has a specific liturgical role and is placed between the acolyte (or reader) and the deacon in the order of precedence.
Subdeacons in ...
named Stephen. He served as a
priest for 40 years before his election and was the first priest to be
elected pope since
John II in 533.
Pontificate
Almost nothing is known about Adeodatus I's pontificate.
It represents the second wave of opposition to
Gregory the Great's papal reforms, the first being the pontificate of
Sabinian. He reversed the practice of his predecessor,
Boniface IV, of filling the papal administrative ranks with monks by recalling the clergy to such positions and by ordaining some 14 priests, the first ordinations in Rome since Gregory's pontificate.
According to tradition, Adeodatus was the first pope to use lead seals (''bullae'') on papal documents, which in time came to be called "
papal bulls". One ''bulla'' dating from his reign is still preserved, the obverse of which represents the Good Shepherd in the midst of His sheep, with the letters Alpha and Omega underneath, while the reverse bears the inscription: Deusdedit Papæ.
In August 618, an earthquake struck Rome, followed by an outbreak of
scabies
Scabies (; also sometimes known as the seven-year itch) is a contagious skin infestation by the mite ''Sarcoptes scabiei''. The most common symptoms are severe itchiness and a pimple-like rash. Occasionally, tiny burrows may appear on the skin ...
. Adeodatus died 8 November 618, and was eventually succeeded by
Boniface V
Pope Boniface V ( la, Bonifatius V; died 25 October 625) was the bishop of Rome from 23 December 619 to his death. He did much for the Christianisation of Anglo-Saxon England, and enacted the decree by which churches became places of sanctuary.
...
.
His
feast day
The calendar of saints is the traditional Christian method of organizing a liturgical year by associating each day with one or more saints and referring to the day as the feast day or feast of said saint. The word "feast" in this context d ...
is 8 November.
He is also a saint in the
Eastern Orthodox Church as one of the pre-
Schism
A schism ( , , or, less commonly, ) is a division between people, usually belonging to an organization, movement, or religious denomination. The word is most frequently applied to a split in what had previously been a single religious body, suc ...
"Orthodox Popes of Rome".
See also
*
List of popes
*
List of Catholic saints
References
External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:Adeodatus 01
618 deaths
Italian popes
7th-century archbishops
Popes of the Byzantine Papacy
Italian Roman Catholic saints
Papal saints
7th-century Christian saints
Popes
Year of birth unknown
7th-century popes
Eastern Orthodox saints
Burials at St. Peter's Basilica