Sixtus II

Who they were

Sixtus was elected Pope on 30 August 257, when an imperial edict had decreed death for Christians, above all their leaders, and the confiscation of Church property, including the cemeteries where Christians gathered.

On 6 August 258 he was arrested with his deacons in the cemetery of St Callixtus while teaching, and was put to death there. St Cyprian wrote from Carthage that Sixtus had suffered martyrdom with four deacons in the cemetery; St Lawrence, his archdeacon, followed him four days later.

The miracles

There was never a formal cause: Sixtus and his companions have been honoured as martyrs since the third century.

Why that counted as sanctity

Sixtus shepherded the Church of Rome in open persecution and was killed among his flock, while celebrating and teaching in the catacombs.

Connected on this site

• Dionysius Saint
  “After the martyrdom of Pope Sixtus II in 258 the Roman See stayed vacant nearly a year because of the persecution; Dionysius was elected on 22 July 259.” — this site's research
• Felicissimus and Agapitus Saint
  “Felicissimus and Agapitus were two of the six deacons of Pope Sixtus II who were martyred with him on or about 6 August 258, Felicissimus and Agapitus on the same day as the Pope.” — Wikipedia
• Lawrence of Rome Saint
  “He was killed along with seven deacons, including Lawrence of Rome, during the persecution of Christians by the Emperor Valerian.” — Wikipedia
• Peregrine of Auxerre Saint
  “A strong local tradition states that he was a priest of Rome appointed by Pope Sixtus II to evangelize this area at the request of the Christians resident in that part of Gaul.” — Wikipedia
• Sixtus of Reims Saint
  “According to Hincmar, a 9th-century archbishop of Reims, Sixtus was sent from Rome by Pope Sixtus II to Gaul to assist in Christianizing the region.” — Wikipedia