Saint Anicetus, Pope & Martyr
S. Aniceti Papae et Martyris
Saint Anicetus was one of the early Bishops of Rome, who governed the Church in the middle of the second century. He is remembered for receiving the aged Saint Polycarp, and the Church has long venerated him among the holy Popes and martyrs of the apostolic age.
Saint Anicetus held the See of Peter about the years 155 to 166, in the generation that followed close upon the Apostles. Of his life little is recorded with certainty, for the documents of that distant age are few. What the Church keeps before us is sober and sure: that he was a shepherd of the Roman Church in a perilous time, that he laboured to guard the flock from the errors then arising, and that he was numbered by the ancient tradition among the martyrs and confessors of the early Faith.
A shepherd of the apostolic age
The most memorable event recorded of his pontificate is the visit of Saint Polycarp, the venerable Bishop of Smyrna and disciple of the Apostle Saint John, who came to Rome to confer with Anicetus. Among the matters they discussed was the keeping of Easter, on which the customs of the East and of Rome then differed. Though the two could not bring their usages into agreement, they parted in peace and in the bond of charity, and Anicetus, in token of honour, invited the aged Polycarp to offer the Eucharist in his own church. This account, preserved by the early writers, is a precious glimpse of the communion that bound the churches together in those first centuries.
Among the martyrs of Rome
Beyond these things, the particulars of Saint Anicetus’ rule and of his death cannot be established with confidence, and the Church does not press what cannot be known. Yet his name has been kept in honour from ancient times, inscribed among the early Popes who held the place of Peter and handed on the Faith unbroken. In venerating him the faithful honour the whole company of those first shepherds, known and unknown, whose fidelity in an age of trial preserved the deposit of the Gospel for the ages to come.
The Collect
O eternal Shepherd, look forgivingly upon Thy flock, and keep it in Thy constant protection through blessed Anicetus, Thy Martyr and Sovereign Pontiff, whom Thou didst constitute shepherd of the whole Church. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, Thy Son, who liveth and reigneth with Thee in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end. Amen.
Gregem tuum, Pastor ætérne, placátus inténde: et, per beátum Anicétum Mártyrem tuum atque Summum Pontíficem, perpétua protectióne custódi; quem totíus Ecclésiæ præstitísti esse pastórem. Per Dóminum nostrum Iesum Christum Fílium tuum, qui tecum vivit et regnat in unitáte Spíritus Sancti Deus, per ómnia sǽcula sæculórum. Amen.
In the Modern Calendar
Saint Anicetus is no longer inscribed in the modern General Roman Calendar; he continues to be honoured in the Roman Martyrology.
Common Questions
When is the feast of Saint Anicetus?
In the 1962 Roman Missal his feast is kept on 17 April as a Fourth-Class feast.
Who was Saint Anicetus?
He was a Bishop of Rome in the middle of the second century, an early successor of Saint Peter, honoured among the holy Popes and martyrs of the apostolic age. He is best remembered for receiving Saint Polycarp of Smyrna, with whom he conferred on the date of Easter.
Why is so little known about him?
He lived in the generation just after the Apostles, an age from which few records survive. The Church honours what is certain — that he was a faithful shepherd of the Roman Church — and refrains from asserting details that cannot be reliably established.
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