Boniface Jocundus

Died 4 Sep 0422 in Roma, Western Roman Empire

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Biography

Pope St Boniface I Jocundus is Notable.

Boniface, son of presbyter Jocundus, was born in Rome.^[1]

On the day of Pope Zosimus's funeral, which was held at San Lorenzo fuori le Mura, partisans of Eulalius occupied the Lateran. Later that day, Eulalius arrived, with a crowd consisting of deacons, laity, and a few priests, and was elected bishop. The new pope and his supporters remained at the church until Sunday, 29 December, for the formal ordination customarily took place on a Sunday.^[1][2]

Meanwhile, on the Saturday after the funeral, and of Eulalius' election, a majority of the priests of the Church elected Boniface, who had previously been a councilor of Pope Innocent. He also was consecrated on 29 December, at the Church of Saint Marcellus in the Campus Martius.^[1]

Boniface supported Augustine in combating Pelagianism, forwarding to him two Pelagian letters Boniface had received calumniating Augustine. In recognition of this solicitude, Augustine dedicated to Boniface his rejoinder contained in Contra duas Epistolas Pelagianoruin Libri quatuor.[1] He persuaded Emperor Theodosius II to return Illyricum to Western jurisdiction and defended the rights of the Holy See.^[1]

Boniface I died 4 September 422, in Rome.^[1][2]

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

Elected on December 28, 418, St. Boniface I reigned as pope for nearly four years. He’s described in The Catholic Encyclopedia as being “a priest highly esteemed for his charity, learning, and good character.” All records point to Boniface getting on in years by the time of his election, having purportedly been ordained by Pope St. Damasus I at least 30 years prior.

Boniface continued to deal with the drama-fest in Gaul (western Europe) created by his predecessor, St. Zosimus, but calmed some nerves by restricting Bishop Patroclus’ power there. He also supported his contemporary, St. Augustine, in battling the Pelagian heresy in Africa. Boniface died on September 4, 422, and was buried near the tomb of St. Felicity, one of his favorite saints. His feast day is celebrated on October 25.

St. Boniface I dealt with trouble from the very beginning of his papacy – even before he was elected. After the death of Zosimus, a group of rogue churchmen decided to take over the Basilica of St. John Lateran and elect their own pope, Eulalius. Rolling their eyes and saying, “seriously, no,” the majority of clergy in Rome got together the following day (December 28) and elected Boniface.

Though Roman Emperor Honorius favored Eulalius as pope, he had both men exiled until the mess could be sorted out. This schism continued for 15 weeks, ultimately ending when Eulalius defiantly returned to Rome, wanting to celebrate Easter Mass. Surprisingly, the stunt only infuriated Honorius, so the emperor – tired of Eulalius’ hogwash – decided to rule in favor of Boniface, declaring him the true pope.

After dealing with all the Eulalius hullabaloo, Boniface wanted to ensure it didn’t happen again when he died. So, he petitioned the emperor and had a law enacted declaring that in situations when two or more claimed the papal throne, none would be recognized and a new election would be held.

The great St. Jerome, who gave us the official Latin translation of the Bible (the Vulgate) among many other things, died on September 30, 420.

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4} Wikipedia Pope Boniface I
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1} Vatican
3. ↑ Flocknote Popes in a Year
   SOURCES (and further reading)
   John, E. (1964). The Popes: A concise biographical history. New York: Hawthorn Books.
   Pope St. Boniface I - http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/02658a.htm
   Pope Boniface I - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pope_Boniface_I
   420 - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/420