Saint Felix I, Pope & Martyr
S. Felicis I Papae et Martyris
Saint Felix I governed the Church of Rome in the latter part of the third century and is venerated among the early popes and martyrs of the Roman See.
Saint Felix became Bishop of Rome about the year 269, and held the See of Peter for some five years, until around 274. He shepherded the Roman Church in the difficult middle decades of the third century, between the great waves of persecution that marked that age.
What is reliably known
The ancient catalogues of the popes record Felix as a Roman by birth and number him among the successors of Saint Peter in this period. His pontificate fell at a time when the Church was concerned to safeguard the true faith concerning the Person of Christ, and tradition associates his name with the affirmation of sound doctrine on this point. Beyond these broad lines, the particulars of his life and governance have not come down to us with certainty, and the Church holds soberly to what is sure.
From early times Saint Felix has been honoured as a martyr and venerated among the holy popes of Rome. Whatever the exact manner of his witness, the Church reveres him as one who held the chair of Peter faithfully in an age of trial and is numbered among those who gave testimony to Christ. The Roman Martyrology keeps his memory among the martyrs.
His witness today
The feast of Saint Felix I on the thirtieth of May joins his name to the long line of early Roman pontiffs who guarded the faith handed down from the Apostles. In him the Church honours the quiet fidelity of her early shepherds, and the unbroken succession of the See of Peter through the perilous centuries of persecution. His name is remembered with those of the martyrs who reign with Christ.
The Collect
Look forgivingly on thy flock, Eternal Shepherd, and keep it in thy constant protection, by the intercession of blessed Felix thy Martyr and Supreme Pontiff, whom thou didst constitute Shepherd of the whole Church.
Gregem tuum, Pastor ætérne, placátus inténde: et, per beátum Félicem Mártyrem tuum atque Summum Pontíficem, perpétua protectióne custódi; quem totíus Ecclésiæ præstitísti esse pastórem.
Patronage
He is venerated among the early popes and martyrs of Rome and is named in the Roman Martyrology.
In the Modern Calendar
In the modern calendar his feast is no longer kept on the universal calendar.
Common Questions
When is the feast of Saint Felix I?
His feast is kept on 30 May in the calendar of the 1962 Roman Missal, as a Fourth Class feast.
Who was Saint Felix I?
He was Bishop of Rome from about 269 to 274, a Roman by birth, honoured by the Church as a pope and martyr of the early Roman See.
Why is little known of his life?
He lived in the third century, from which few reliable records survive. The Church honours him for what is certain — that he held the See of Peter and is venerated as a martyr — without embellishing his story with unverified detail.
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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