Saint of the Day: Pope St. Martin I

Pope and Martyr (d. 655)

His life

+ Martin was born in Italy and was elected Bishop of Rome in 649.

+ Soon after his election he convoked a council in Rome to condemn the Monothelite Heresy (which denied the human will of Christ) and the involvement of Emperor Constans II in Church affairs.

+ The emperor had Martin kidnapped and imprisoned in Constantinople. Although he was saved from execution through the intervention of the Patriarch of Constantinople, Pope Martin was exiled to Kherson, in the Crimea.

+ Pope Martin died of abuse and starvation in the 655. He is the last of the Bishops of Rome to be honored as a martyr.

+ The Feast of Pope Saint Martin I is celebrated in both the Eastern and Western Churches.

For prayer and reflection

“They praised in unison your conquering hand, O Lord,

for wisdom opened mouths that were mute

and gave eloquence to the tongues of infants, alleluia.”—Entrance Antiphon for Thursday in the Octave of Easter

Prayer

O God, who have united the many nations
in confessing your name,
grant that those reborn in the font of Baptism
may be one in the faith of their hearts
and the homage of their deeds.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
God, for ever and ever. Amen.
(from The Roman Missal: Collect for the Wednesday in the Octave of Easter)

Saint profiles prepared by Brother Silas Henderson, S.D.S.