Pope_Sixtus_I

Saint Sixtus I





Birth name

Sixtus or Xystus


Papacy began

117 or 119


Papacy ended

126 or 128


Predecessor

Alexander I


Successor

Telesphorus


Born

???
Rome, Italy


Died

126 or 128
Rome, Italy


Other popes named Sixtus


Pope Saint Sixtus I was the bishop of Rome from about 117 or 119 C.E. to 126 or 128 C.E., following Pope Alexander I and succeeded by Pope Telesphorus. The spelling Xystus is also used for the first three popes named Sixtus.
Like most of the very early popes, very little is known about Sixtus. Several sources call him a martyr. However, this is considered unproved, and the "Xystus" who is commemorated in the Catholic Canon of the Mass is Sixtus II, not Sixtus I.

Contents

1 Biography
2 Legacy
3 References
4 Credits



Sixtus I is credited as having instituted several Roman Catholic liturgical and administrative traditions, but historians believe that these were attributed to him by later writers who were interested in bolstering the papacy's claims to ancient supremacy. Like most of his predecessors, Sixtus I was believed to be buried near Saint Peter's grave in the Vatican, although there are differing traditions concerning where his body lies today. His feast is celebrated on April 6.

Biography
Sixtus was reportedly a Roman by birth, and his father's name is given as Pastor. Other than that, nothing is known about his background. The Liber Pontificalis credits him with instituting the following three ordinances:

That only official ministers are allowed to touch the sacred vessels
That bishops who have been summoned to Rome can only be accepted back by their diocese after presenting letters from the pope
That after the Preface in the Mass, the priest shall chant the Sanctus ("Holy, holy, holy…") together with the people
However, most historians today dismiss these claims as a later invention, for the authors of the Liber Pontificalis dutifully ascribe to each pope one or more such decrees in accord with the view of Roman church tradition stemming from an unbroken chain of apostolic authority going back to the first "pope," Saint Peter. Similar skepticism must be applied to the claim that Sixtus appointed exactly 11 priests, four deacons, and four bishops.
Regarding the dates of Sixtus I, according to the Liberian Catalogue of popes, he ruled the Church during the reign of Hadrian "a consulatu Negro et Aproniani usque Vero III et Ambibulo," that is, from 117 to 126. The fourth century church historian Eusebius, however, states in his Chronicon that Sixtus I was pope from 114 to 124, while his Historia Ecclesiastica, using a different list, claims that Sixtus' rule was from 114 to 128.

 The town of Altari, where Sixtus I is the patron saint
The Felician Catalogue of popes, as well as the Liber Pontificalis and various martyrologies, tells us that Sixtus I was a martyr, though no details are provided. This gives him a somewhat more credible claim to this title than several earlier popes whom the Liber Pontificalis calls martyrs. However, Irenaeus of Lyons, writing in the second century, says nothing of his martyrdom. His successor, Telesphorus, is the first bishop of Rome after Saint Peter whom Irenaeus designates a martyr.
Sixtus was reportedly buried in the Vatican, beside the tomb of Saint Peter. The Liber Pontificalis gives his date of burial as April 3.

Legacy
The relics of Saint Sixtus are said to have been transferred to Alatri in 1132, although some contend that they are still in the Vatican Basilica. The eighteenth century English Roman Catholic hagiographer Alban Butler (Lives of the Saints, April 6) stated that Pope Clement X gave some of his relics to Cardinal Jean François Paul de Gondi, who placed them in the Abbey of St. Michael in Lorraine in the seventeenth century. The Xystus who is commemorated in the Catholic Canon of the Mass is Xystus II, not Xystus I.




Roman Catholic Popes


Preceded by:
Alexander I

Bishop of Rome 
Pope
115–125

Succeeded by: Telesphorus


ReferencesISBN links support NWE through referral fees
Benedict XVI. The Roman Martyrology. Gardners Books, 2007. ISBN 9780548133743.
Chapman, John. Studies on the Early Papacy. Port Washington, NY: Kennikat Press, 1971. ISBN 9780804611398.
Fortescue, Adrian, and Scott M. P. Reid. The Early Papacy: To the Synod of Chalcedon in 451. Southampton: Saint Austin Press, 1997. ISBN 9781901157604.
Jowett, George F. The Drama of the Lost Disciples. London: Covenant Pub. Co, 1968. OCLC 7181392
Loomis, Louise Ropes. The Book of Popes (Liber Pontificalis). Merchantville, NJ: Evolution Publishing. ISBN 1889758868.
This article incorporates text from the public-domain Catholic Encyclopedia of 1913.

Popes of the Catholic Church
Peter 
Linus 
Anacletus 
Clement I 
Evaristus 
Alexander I 
Sixtus I 
Telesphorus 
Hyginus 
Pius I 
Anicetus 
Soter 
Eleuterus 
Victor I 
Zephyrinus 
Callixtus I 
Urban I 
Pontian 
Anterus 
Fabian 
Cornelius 
Lucius I 
Stephen I 
Sixtus II 
Dionysius 
Felix I 
Eutychian 
Caius 
Marcellinus 
Marcellus I 
Eusebius 
Miltiades 
Sylvester I 
Mark


Julius I 
Liberius 
Damasus I 
Siricius 
Anastasius I 
Innocent I 
Zosimus 
Boniface I 
Celestine I 
Sixtus III
Leo I 
Hilarius 
Simplicius 
Felix III 
Gelasius I 
Anastasius II 
Symmachus 
Hormisdas 
 John I 
Felix IV 
Boniface II 
John II 
Agapetus I 
Silverius 
Vigilius 
Pelagius I
John III 
Benedict I 
Pelagius II 
Gregory I 
Sabinian 
Boniface III 
Boniface IV 
Adeodatus I


Boniface V 
Honorius I 
Severinus 
John IV 
Theodore I 
Martin I 
Eugene I
Vitalian 
Adeodatus II 
Donus 
Agatho 
Leo II 
Benedict II 
John V 
Conon 
Sergius I 
John VI 
John VII 
Sisinnius 
Constantine 
Gregory II 
Gregory III
Zachary 
Stephen II 
Paul I 
Stephen III 
Adrian I 
Leo III 
Stephen IV 
Paschal I 
Eugene II 
 Valentine 
Gregory IV 
Sergius II


Leo IV 
Benedict III 
Nicholas I 
Adrian II 
John VIII 
Marinus I 
Adrian III 
Stephen V 
Formosus 
Boniface VI 
Stephen VI 
Romanus 
Theodore II 
John IX 
Benedict IV 
Leo V 
Sergius III 
Anastasius III 
Lando 
John X 
Leo VI 
Stephen VII 
John XI 
Leo VII 
Stephen VIII 
Marinus II 
Agapetus II 
John XII 
Leo VIII 
Benedict V 
John XIII 
Benedict VI 
Benedict VII 
John XIV


John XV 
Gregory V 
Sylvester II 
John XVII 
John XVIII 
Sergius IV 
 Benedict VIII 
John XIX 
Benedict IX 
Sylvester III 
Benedict IX 
Gregory VI 
Clement II 
Benedict IX 
Damasus II 
Leo IX 
Victor II 
Stephen IX 
Nicholas II 
Alexander II 
Gregory VII 
Victor III 
Urban II 
Paschal II 
Gelasius II 
Callixtus II 
Honorius II 
Innocent II 
Celestine II 
Lucius II 
Eugene III 
Anastasius IV 
Adrian IV 
Alexander III


Lucius III 
Urban III 
Gregory VIII 
Clement III 
Celestine III 
Innocent III 
Honorius III 
Gregory IX 
Celestine IV 
Innocent IV 
Alexander IV 
Urban IV 
Clement IV 
Gregory X 
Innocent V 
Adrian V 
John XXI 
Nicholas III 
Martin IV 
Honorius IV 
Nicholas IV 
Celestine V 
Boniface VIII 
Benedict XI 
Clement V 
John XXII 
Benedict XII 
Clement VI 
Innocent VI 
Urban V 
Gregory XI 
Urban VI 
Boniface IX 
Innocent VII


Gregory XII 
Martin V 
Eugene IV 
Nicholas V 
Callixtus III 
Pius II 
Paul II 
Sixtus IV 
Innocent VIII 
Alexander VI 
Pius III 
Julius II 
Leo X 
Adrian VI 
Clement VII 
Paul III 
Julius III 
Marcellus II 
Paul IV 
Pius IV 
Pius V 
Gregory XIII 
Sixtus V 
Urban VII 
Gregory XIV 
Innocent IX 
Clement VIII 
Leo XI 
Paul V 
Gregory XV 
Urban VIII 
Innocent X 
Alexander VII 
Clement IX


Clement X 
Innocent XI 
Alexander VIII 
Innocent XII 
Clement XI 
Innocent XIII 
Benedict XIII 
Clement XII 
Benedict XIV 
Clement XIII 
Clement XIV 
Pius VI 
Pius VII 
Leo XII 
Pius VIII 
Gregory XVI 
Pius IX 
Leo XIII 
Pius X 
Benedict XV 
Pius XI 
Pius XII 
John XXIII 
Paul VI 
John Paul I 
John Paul II
Benedict XVI

Currently: Francis

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