Sixtus I

Sixtus I (Rome, ¿? - ha. 125) was the seventh pope of the Catholic Church between 114 (?) and 125 (?).

Biography

As with his predecessor, the exact dates of his pontificate are the subject of controversy among historians, since, while the Pontifical Yearbook establishes it between the years 115 and 125, the Liberian Catalog affirms that he was head of the Church during the reign of Hadrian between 117 and 126. For his part, Eusebius of Caesarea establishes in two of his works two different periods of pontificate: in his Chronicom he places it between 114 and 124, and in his Historia Ecclesiastica fixes it between 114 and 128.

His name, probably Greek, may refer to the fact that he was the sixth successor of Saint Peter and in the early Church documents it appears with the spelling Xystus also used for Sixtus II and Sixtus III.

Like his predecessors San Pedro, San Lino, San Anacleto and San Clemente, his name appears in the Roman Canon of the Mass (also known as Eucharistic Prayer I).

According to Liber Pontificalis, during his pontificate he established three provisions:

• That the chalice should only be touched by the priests and that the cloth that covers it was linen.
• That before the Mass was celebrated the Trisagio or Sanctus, an hymn in honor of the Trinity and in which the Holy Word is repeated three times referring to the Lord.
• May the bishops who call to the Holy See not be received by their diocese until they present the Apostolic Letters that confirm their full communion with the Pope.

According to tradition, he suffered martyrdom, appearing in all ancient martyrdoms as a martyr, but without giving details of the type of martyrdom he suffered. His remains were buried in the Vatican, next to Peter's tomb, although tradition states that they were transferred to Alatri in 1132, where they remained until 1584, when they were returned to Saint Peter's Basilica.

Her feast day is April 3.