Saint Paschal I

From his childhood he had been raised in th e patriarchate of the Lateran ch patriarcat de l'église de Latran Place of the saint's initial formation. urch, under the eyes of the sovereign Pontiffs. He made such great progress in all virtues, in letters, and in ecclesiastical discipline, that after having received holy orders, Leo III p laced hi Léon III Pope who presented the relics of Hippolytus to Charlemagne. m at the head of the monastery of Saint Stephen. There, he became a model for the religious over whom he had been placed; he received the pilgrims who came in crowds to visit the tombs of the Apostles with incomparable kindness, provided them with everything they needed, and, following the example of the Savior, rendered them the most humble services. These unequivocal proofs of piety and charity therefore caused him to be judged as the man most worthy to preside over the destinies of the flock of Jesus Christ, and those of the entire Church. He lacked nothing of what is necessary to perfectly govern the barque of Peter.

He knew how to preserve in all its integrity, in the West, the discipline of the Church, which was then flourishing there. As for the Church of t he East, which the Emperor l'empereur Léon l'Arménien Byzantine emperor under whom James served as a soldier. Leo th e Armenian and the intrude patriarche intrus Théodore Eastern Roman Emperor (likely Theodosius II according to the historical context). r patriarch Theodore kept in a continuous state of agitation through the propagation of the Iconoclast heresy, he consoled it by means of his letters and the legates he sent to it. He also gave to the Greeks who took refuge in Rome the monastery of Saint Praxedes, which he had built, and endowed it with rich revenues. Theodore, wishing to consolidate his usurpation, sent deputies to the Pope to induce him to recognize him; but Pascal was not taken in by the ruses nor intimidated by the threats; he declared that he recognized no other patriarch of Constantinople than the legitimate pastor Saint Ni saint Nicéphore Legitimate Patriarch of Constantinople supported by the Pope. cephorus, and he solemnly condemned the persecutions stirred up against the orthodox.

The zeal that Pascal showed on this occasion and the continual embarrassments that the heretics caused him did not prevent him from thinking of extending the reign of Jesus Christ in the regions that had not yet been enlightened by the lights of the Gospel. E bdon, Archbishop of Reims, Ebdon, archevêque de Reims Archbishop of Reims and missionary to Denmark. having learned at the court of Emperor Louis the Pious, fr Louis le Débonnaire King of the Franks who made Aldric his advisor and commander of the palace. om the deputies o f Denmar Danemark Mission territory for evangelization. k, of the relations that Pascal had had with the Danes, felt a keen desire to go and evangelize these peoples still plunged in idolatry. He went to Rome, where the holy Pope strengthened him in his generous resolution and gave him full powers for the mission he wished to undertake.

Here is a remarkable excerpt of the powers that Pascal gave him. "The Pope, who is charged with watching over the salvation of all men, has learned that some peoples of the North, deprived of baptism and of any knowledge of the true God, are still plunged in the shadows of death. That is why he sends his brother and colleague to preach to these peoples and to make them pass from darkness to light. If, during the fulfillment of his functions, some doubt should arise in his mind, let him address himself to Rome, to see it lifted (like Saint Boniface), and let him come to draw from this pure source of all lights!..."

He transported a large number of holy bodies into the city, which he removed from the cemeteries, following the example of Paul I, and according to the revela sainte Cécile Saint whose feast day is the day Marianne was baptized. tions of Saint Cecilia who indicated to him the place where they had been placed, he had new churches built, and he restored and adorned the old ones with great magnificence. He increased the assets assigned to hospitals and monasteries of nuns. Finally, after having extinguished a fire by a brilliant miracle, he went to rest in the bosom of God, in the eighth year of his Pontificate (824), and was buri ed in the Vatican basilique Vaticane Burial place of the Pope. Basilica.

It is generally acknowledged that the principal members of the Roman clergy, who w ere calle cardinaux Decorative and functional title of the high Roman clergy. d cardinals long before the pontificate of Paschal I, were publicly decorated with this title during his reign.

See Anastasius the Librarian, the Bollandists, Baillet, and Baronius.