Saint Damasus I

Saint Damasus I

Feast day: December 11
Patron saint of archeologists

Saint Damasus was born around the year 304 and was raised in Rome by devout Christian parents.

He served as a deacon to his predecessor, Pope Liberius, and accompanied him when Liberius was exiled for his opposition to Arianism, a belief that questioned the divine nature of Jesus. The emperor, Constantius II, named Felix II as pope, creating a period of conflict within the Church between those who supported Liberius and those who supported Felix.

Liberius eventually reconciled with the emperor and was restored to the papacy, but he died not long after, and in 366, Damasus was elected to replace him. There remained, however, opposition groups within the Church, and not everyone was happy with the choice, promoting instead the cause of a different deacon, Ursinus.  Although Damasus won out, the resulting violence and accusations plagued him through the early years of his papacy.

Despite these early troubles, Damasus’ papacy would mark some important milestones for the Church, including seeing Christianity continue to rise from being a persecuted minority to the state religion of Rome in the year 380 AD.

Although the Arian controversy continued through his papacy, thanks to the teachings of Saint Athanasius, Saint Ambrose, and Saint Jerome, whom Damasus supported, the beliefs articulated in the Nicene Creed were increasingly acknowledged as the truths of the faith.

It was also during this time that Saint Jerome, at the urging of Pope Damasus, began revising the old Latin translations of Scripture. Latin then became the language of the Church both in liturgy and in Scripture.

In addition to his other accomplishments, Damasus promoted veneration of the Christian martyrs. He wrote a series of epigraphs for the tombs of martyrs and other Christians and also worked to restore access to them in the catacombs of Rome and elsewhere.