July I

Julius I (Rome, 3rd century – April 12, 352) was 35.o pope of the Catholic Church, ruling between February 6, 337 and April 12, 352, when he died. His feast is celebrated on April 12.

Hagiography

Julius was the son of the prominent Roman citizen Rusticus. He was born in the III century, probably in Rome, where his father was from.

Pontificate

Julius was elected on February 6, 337, after the papal throne remained vacant due to the premature death of the pope-elect, Mark, on October 7, 336. The Church lasted four months with the papal chair empty. The reasons for the long vacancy are unknown.

Conflicts with the Arians

He confirmed in office two Christian bishops whom the Arians had forced to abdicate. In the autumn of 341, Julius I called a council attended by 50 bishops with the purpose of speaking out again against Arianism and condemning those who removed bishops at will.

On the death of Constantine I the Great, the empire was divided among his three sons, one of them, Constantine II, soon disappeared from history and his other two sons, Constantius II, in the East and Constant in the East, remained as emperors. West. While Constant was a Catholic, Constantius was an Arian. In 350 Constantius was assassinated and the Empire was reunited under Constantius. The emperor then unleashed a terrible persecution against the Church.

Celebrating Christmas

July I set for the Western Church the solemnity of Christmas on December 25, instead of January 6, along with Epiphany. He took this date because, in the Julian calendar, the winter solstice occurred on that day, this event being celebrated by many peoples of the northern hemisphere (for example, see the Roman Saturnalia) as a new rebirth of the cycle of life.

The beginnings of Christianity in the Roman era were difficult, there were constant riots among the population and clashes between pagans and Romans recently converted to Christianity. The celebration of certain pagan holidays was also a reason for social and political disputes. With the purpose of pacifying these clashes, and Christianizing the festivities, the Emperor Constantine the Great with the support of Pope Julius I decided to make the pagan festivities of Saturnalia coincide with the celebration of the birth of the Messiah. In this way, the birth of the Son of God the Christ would be celebrated on this date.

Other works

He is considered the founder of the Archive of the Holy See, because he ordered the preservation of the documents.^{[citation required]}

Name days and public worship

Julio is venerated as a saint from the very date of his death. He died on April 12, 352, in Rome, of natural causes. He was buried in the catacombs of Calepodio on the Via Aurelia. Then his remains were moved to Santa Maria de la Trastevere, where they rest, and which he himself took charge of building.