Anicetus
bishop of Rome from c. 157 to 168
Feast: 17 April (1962 Missal) · not on the current Roman calendar
Who they were
Anicetus succeeded Pius as bishop of Rome around 157 and reigned until about 168. The aged St Polycarp came to him to discuss the date of Easter: Rome kept it on a Sunday, the East on the fourteenth of Nisan. Neither persuaded the other, Eusebius says, but the bonds of charity were not broken, and Anicetus let Polycarp celebrate as Smyrna did.
The historian Hegesippus and many others came to Rome in his time, as did heretical teachers such as Marcion and Valentinus. Tradition holds that he died a martyr.
The miracles
There was never a formal cause: Anicetus has been honoured as a martyr since the early Church.
Why that counted as sanctity
Anicetus kept the unity of the Church in charity even where there was disagreement, as his meeting with Polycarp shows.
- Catholic Encyclopedia (1913), via New Advent - Pope St. Anicetus
- Wikidata Q546590 — dates, feast day and identifiers (CC0)
- English Wikipedia — Pope Anicetus (CC BY-SA)
Checked against the sources listed on 21 September 2026. Corrections welcome.