Sixtus was elected Pope in 257. Twelve months later, on 6th August, as he was celebrating Mass in the catacomb of St Calixtus, he was seized by the authorities (it was the time of Valerian’s persecution) and beheaded along with four of his deacons. He was buried in the same catacomb. St Laurence, another deacon, was captured and executed four days later. We know most of the details of this martyrdom from a letter of St Cyprian, who was himself martyred later in the same year. See the article in the Catholic Encyclopaedia.
14 posted on 08/07/2007 6:22:56 PM PDT by Salvation
(†With God all things are possible.†)
He was born in Vicenza and became a priest at the age of 36. He worked hard for the poor and the sick and for the reform of the Church; with this last aim in mind, he founded a congregation of secular priests which became known as the Theatines. These had three functions: preaching, the administration of the sacraments, and the celebration of the liturgy. He encouraged the growth of pawn-shops as a means of helping the poor out of temporary financial difficulties and keeping them out of the hands of usurers. His congregation also cared for incurable syphilitics (a particularly virulent form of syphilis was sweeping Europe, having been imported from the Caribbean by Columbus’s men). His example encouraged many others on the path to active sanctity. He said [in a letter to Elisabeth Porto]: “Do not receive Christ in the Blessed Sacrament so that you may use him as you judge best, but give yourself to him and let him receive you in this Sacrament, so that he himself, God your saviour, may do to you and through you whatever he wills”. See the article in the Catholic Encyclopaedia.
15 posted on 08/07/2007 6:23:50 PM PDT by Salvation
(†With God all things are possible.†)