Benedict di Roma

Born [date unknown] in Rome, Byzantine Empire

Problems/Questions Profile manager: Deborah Talbot [send private message]

Biography

Pope Benedict I di Roma is Notable.

Benedict was born in Rome.^[1] He was the son of Boniface.^[2]

He was confirmed pope on 2 June 575, 11 months after the death of Pope John III.^[2][1]

He died on 30 July 579.^[1]

Flocknote Popes in a Year ^[3] tells us:

Pope from June 2, 575 - July 30, 579 A.D.

Died: July 30, 579 A.D.

Nearly nothing is known of the first pope to bear the name of Benedict. He was Roman by birth, and was elected pope on June 2, 575. As if the vacancy between Pelagius I and John III was great, the interregnum prior to Benedict’s pontificate was nearly twice as long. Almost 11 months before Benedict took office, due mainly to turbulent times and the need for confirmation from the emperor in Constantinople.

During his time as pope, he reportedly held an ordination near Christmastime, at which he ordained 15 priests and three deacons, and also consecrated 21 bishops. Benedict I reigned for just over four years, dying on July 30, 579 and being buried in St. Peter’s Basilica.

The only other acts we know about Benedict I regard his charity, which he evidently had in spades. He gifted an estate to the abbot of St. Mark’s Monastery near Spoleto, Italy and also worked tirelessly to relieve the hunger and hardship of his flock during the famine caused in part by barbarian invasions.

The name “Benedict,” owned by fifteen popes and three antipopes (Benedict X, originally counted on the “real pope” list, was really an antipope) is the second most common papal name after “John.”

During his pontificate, the mother of Muhammad, the founder of Islam, died around the year 577, leaving him an orphan to be cared for by his grandfather (until 578) and then by his uncle, Abu Talib.

Research Notes

This profile is being updated by the Popes Project.

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1 1.2} Vatican
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1} Wikipedia: Pope Benedict I
3. ↑ Flocknote Popes in a Year
   SOURCES (and further reading)
   John, E. (1964). The Popes: A concise biographical history. New York: Hawthorn Books.
   Pope Benedict I - http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/02427c.htm
   Pope Benedict I - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pope_Benedict_I
   570s - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/570s