Saint Evaristus, Pope & Martyr
S. Evaristi Papae et Martyris
Saint Evaristus was one of the earliest successors of Saint Peter in the See of Rome, a shepherd of the Church in the age of the apostles’ disciples, honoured among the early martyr-popes.
On the twenty-sixth of October the Church commemorates Saint Evaristus, pope, who governed the Church of Rome in the first years of the second century, among the earliest of the successors of Saint Peter. He held the office of the supreme pontificate in an age very near to that of the apostles, when the Church was still young and walked under the shadow of persecution.
A shepherd of the early Church
Of the life of Saint Evaristus little can be said with certainty. The ancient records preserve his name in the line of the bishops of Rome who followed Saint Peter, and number him among the popes of the apostolic age; but of his deeds, his governance, and the manner of his death, history has left us almost nothing sure. He is honoured by tradition as a martyr, as were so many of the early bishops of Rome, who in those perilous times fed the flock of Christ at the daily risk of their lives; yet the particulars of his passion are not known.
Where so much is hidden, the faithful may honour with confidence what is certain: that Saint Evaristus was a true successor of Saint Peter, who held and handed on the faith in an age close to its first preaching, and who is counted among that long and unbroken line of shepherds by whom the Church has been governed from the beginning. In remembering him, the Church gives thanks for the apostolic succession by which the faith has come down to us, and for the courage of the early popes who served Christ in the time of trial.
The Collect
Patronage
He is venerated as one of the earliest successors of Saint Peter and among the early martyr-popes of Rome.
In the Modern Calendar
In the modern calendar this commemoration is no longer kept on the universal calendar.
Common Questions
When is the feast of Saint Evaristus?
His commemoration is kept on 26 October in the calendar of the 1962 Roman Missal, as a Fourth Class feast. In the modern calendar it is no longer observed on the universal calendar.
Who was Saint Evaristus?
He was one of the earliest popes, a successor of Saint Peter who governed the Church of Rome in the first years of the second century. He is honoured by tradition as a martyr. Little of his life is known with certainty, but his name is preserved in the ancient line of the bishops of Rome.
Why is so little known about the earliest popes?
The popes of the apostolic age served in a time of persecution, and few records of their lives survive. The Church preserves their names in the line of succession from Saint Peter and honours their fidelity, even where the details of their deeds and deaths are lost. Their memory testifies to the unbroken succession by which the faith has come down to us.
See where this feast falls in the Church’s year on the liturgical calendar, or find a Traditional Latin Mass near you.
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