Agapetus I
6th‑century Roman pope and canonized Catholic saint, considered a confessor of the faith
Feast: 22 April (not on the universal Roman calendar; kept in the Roman Martyrology or local calendars)
Who they were
Agapetus I, son of the Roman priest Gordianus, reigned from 535 to 536. He burned the anathema Boniface II had laid on Dioscurus, confirmed the African council's decrees on converts from Arianism and ordered a fair retrial for the Bishop of Riez.
When Belisarius was about to invade Italy, the Gothic king begged the aged pope to go to Constantinople; there he died on 22 April 536.
The miracles
There was never a formal cause: he has been honoured as a saint since before the Church's formal processes began.
Why that counted as sanctity
An aged pope who travelled to Constantinople for peace and for the true faith.
Connected on this site
- Felix III Saint“His father, Gordianus, was a priest in Rome and he may have been related to two popes, Felix III and Gregory I.” — Wikipedia
- Gregory I Saint“His father, Gordianus, was a priest in Rome and he may have been related to two popes, Felix III and Gregory I.” — Wikipedia
- Justinian I Saint“In 536, Agapetus traveled to Constantinople at the behest of King Theodahad of the Ostrogoths and unsuccessfully tried to persuade Emperor Justinian I to call off a Byzantine invasion of the Ostrogoth kingdom.” — Wikipedia
- Menas of Constantinople Saint“While in Constantinople, Agapetus also deposed the patriarch Anthimus I and personally consecrated his successor who is Menas of Constantinople.” — Wikipedia
- Catholic Encyclopedia (1913), via New Advent - Pope St. Agapetus I
- Wikidata Q160900 — dates, feast day and identifiers (CC0)
- English Wikipedia — Pope Agapetus I (CC BY-SA)
Checked against the sources listed on 21 September 2026. Corrections welcome.