Damasus I

Who they were

Damasus was born around 305; his father was a scribe who became a priest, and his mother Laurentia consecrated her sixty years of widowhood to God. As a deacon he stayed faithful to Pope Liberius when the emperor Constantius II exiled him, and was elected bishop of Rome in 366 amid the rivalry of antipopes.

He held councils in Rome in 371, 374 and 382, condemning errors against the Holy Spirit and against the full humanity of Christ, and entrusted St Jerome with the translation of the Bible into Latin. He searched out, restored and marked with verse inscriptions the tombs of the Roman martyrs. He died in 384 and was buried on the Via Appia near St Callixtus, not among the martyrs, 'fearing to disturb the holy ashes of the blessed'.

The miracles

There was never a formal cause: Damasus has been honoured as a saint since his death.

Why that counted as sanctity

Damasus defended the faith, gave the Church the Latin Bible through Jerome, and honoured the martyrs so that their witness would never be lost.

Connected on this site

• Irena Saint Brother or sister
• Acacius of Beroea Saint
  “In 377–378, he was sent to Rome to confute Apollinaris of Laodicea before Pope Damasus I.” — Wikipedia
• Jerome Saint
  “He is best known for his translation of the Bible into Latin (the translation that became known as the Vulgate), which was commissioned by Pope Damasus I, and his commentaries on the whole Bible.” — Wikipedia
• Pope Peter II of Alexandria Saint
  “Pope Damasus I, hearing of this new persecution, sent a deacon with a letter of communion and consolation for Peter; the messenger was arrested, treated as a criminal, savagely beaten, and sent to the mines of Phenne.” — Wikipedia
• Saturninus of Carthage Saint
  “Saturninus of Carthage was a North African Christian martyr killed by Maximian in 304 after being exiled to Rome during the Decian persecution, as stated in an inscription dedicated to him by Pope Damasus I.” — Wikipedia
• Tarcisius Saint
  “The little that is known about him comes from a metrical inscription by Pope Damasus I, who was pope in the second half of the 4th century.” — Wikipedia
• Theodosius I Saint
  “Damasus has been described as "the first society Pope", and was possibly a member of a group of Hispanic Christians, largely related to each other, who were close to the Hispanic Theodosius I.” — Wikipedia