Saint Pius I

This blessed Pope w Ce bienheureux Pape Sovereign pontiff and martyr of the 2nd century. as born in Aquile Aquilée Place where Diocletian began the mentioned persecutions. ia, in the State of Venice: his father was named Rufinus. He was elected succe ssor to Sai saint Hygin Predecessor of Pius I. nt Hyginus in the year of Jesus Christ 142, under the empire Antonin le Pieux Roman emperor during whose reign the martyrdom is said to have occurred. of Antoninus Pius. During his pontificate, he took extreme care to make the Catholic religion flourish, and made many fine ordinances for the utility of the universal Church. He imposed rigorous penalties on priests who treated the adorable body and precious blood of Jesus Christ at the mystery of our altars with any negligence. He also published two very severe laws against blasphemers. He ordered that property given as an endowment to the Church should be inalienable, being intended for the establishment of divine offices and for the subsistence of those who serve at the altars. He forbade that sacred vessels and other ecclesiastical ornaments be used for the ordinary purposes of men, and that virgins be received to make a solemn vow of perpetual chastity before the age of twenty-five. We still have a decree from him, by which he orders that the feast of Easter shall be celebrated every year on a Sunday, in memory of the glorious resurrection of the Savior, which occurred on such a day: he wished thereby to abolish the superstitions of certain Churches, which seemed to imitate the Jews in this holy solemnity. He was moved to an action so worthy of piety by one of his brothers, named He rmes, Hermès Brother of Pope Pius I who received an angelic vision. to whom an angel appeared in the guise of a shepherd, and ordered him to exhort all Christians to take only Sunday to solemnize Easter. Thus, this pious custom, which was already observed by the tradition of the Apostles, became, by this decree, an inviolable law in the Church.

But a very considerable mark of his zeal for the faith of Jesus Christ was the consecration of a parochial title erected on the site of the Baths of Novatus, in honor of Saint Pu dentiana, at the p sainte Pudentienne Sister of Saint Praxedes, also honored as a saint. rayer of Saint Pr axedes, her si sainte Praxède Roman virgin of the 2nd century, daughter of the senator Pudens. ster. He joined magnificence to zeal, through the rich gifts he constantly bestowed upon this church: he often celebrated the holy sacrifice of the Mass there. He also established baptismal fonts there, which he blessed and consecrated with his own hand, and where he himself administered the Sacrament of regeneration to a great number of pagans converted to the faith. This was la ter a mona Feuillants Religious order that occupied the site of the Church of Saint Pudentiana. stery of Feuillants, near Saint Mary Major, and one could see in the middle of the church the mouth of the well where Saint Praxedes lowered the bodies of the Martyrs to give them burial.

Finally, after having holily governed the Church for the space of fifteen years, he received the crown of martyrdom. Fontani, a learned and judicious critic, maintains, against Tillemont, that this Saint ended his life by the sword. The Liber Pontificalis does not give him the title of martyr. He conferred Holy Orders five times in the month of December, during which he made twelve bishops, eighteen priests, and twenty- one dea Vatican Burial place of Saint Gelasius. cons. His body was buried at the Vatican.

In the Catacomb of Saint Priscilla, on the Via Salaria, a painting contemporary to Pius I d epicts Pie Ier Sovereign pontiff and martyr of the 2nd century. this Pontiff, dressed in the Colobium, and seated on an episcopal chair. The holy virgin P raxedes stands sainte Praxède Roman virgin of the 2nd century, daughter of the senator Pudens. before him holding an unfolded veil. The Pope lays his hands upon her. A priest assists at this holy ceremony. It is Pastor, b rother Pastor Priest and brother of Saint Pius I, depicted in the catacombs. of Saint Pius I.

There are relics of the Saint at Saint-Leu, at the Poor Clares and the Ursu lines Amiens Episcopal see of Geoffrey. of Amiens, at the Holy Sepulchre of Abbeville, at Saint-Pierre of Roye, and at Montreuil.

We have supplemented this biography with *l'Histoire des souverains Pontifes romains* [History of the Roman Sovereign Pontiffs], by Artand de Montse; and *l'Hagiographie d'Amiens* [Hagiography of Amiens], by Abbé Corblot. — Cf. *Histoire de l'Église* [History of the Church], by Abbé Darrus.