Saint Silverius, Pope & Martyr
S. Silverii Papae et Martyris
Saint Silverius governed the Church of Rome in the sixth century and is honoured as a pope and martyr, who suffered exile and death rather than betray the faith.
Saint Silverius was Bishop of Rome from the year 536, in the troubled age when Italy was contested between the Gothic kingdom and the armies of the Eastern Empire. The son of Pope Saint Hormisdas, who had governed the Church before entering holy orders, Silverius took up the See of Peter at a moment of great political and ecclesiastical strife.
Fidelity unto exile
The chief trial of his pontificate arose from the disputes then troubling the Church concerning the right confession of the faith and the pressures brought to bear by the imperial court. Silverius, faithful to the orthodox faith of his predecessors, would not yield to demands that he judged contrary to it. For this fidelity he fell under the hostility of the powerful, was deposed from his See, and was sent away into exile.
Stripped of his office and banished to a lonely island, Silverius endured hardship and privation, and there he died, about the year 537. The Church has ever counted his death as a martyrdom, for he suffered the loss of all things and at last his life itself rather than abandon the faith and the duty of his office. The particulars of these events come down to us through the records of a confused and bitter time, and not every detail can be established with certainty; but the constancy of Silverius and the injustice of his sufferings are securely remembered.
His witness today
The feast of Saint Silverius on the twentieth of June honours a shepherd who held fast to the faith amid the storms of his age and gave his life in the service of the Church. He is venerated under the common prayer of the martyr-popes, which asks the Eternal Shepherd to look with favour upon his flock and keep it under his constant protection. In Silverius the Church remembers that the chair of Peter has often been a place of suffering, and that fidelity to the truth may cost everything.
The Collect
Look forgivingly on thy flock, Eternal Shepherd, and keep it in thy constant protection, by the intercession of blessed Silverius thy Martyr and Supreme Pontiff, whom thou didst constitute Shepherd of the whole Church.
Gregem tuum, Pastor ætérne, placátus inténde: et, per beátum Silvérium Mártyrem tuum atque Summum Pontíficem, perpétua protectióne custódi; quem totíus Ecclésiæ præstitísti esse pastórem.
Patronage
He is venerated among the martyr-popes of Rome and is honoured especially on the island of Ponza, the place of his exile.
In the Modern Calendar
In the modern calendar this feast is no longer kept on the universal calendar.
Common Questions
When is the feast of Saint Silverius?
His feast is kept on 20 June in the calendar of the 1962 Roman Missal, as a Fourth Class feast.
Who was Saint Silverius?
He was Bishop of Rome from 536, the son of Pope Saint Hormisdas, who governed the Church in a time of war and ecclesiastical strife. For his fidelity to the orthodox faith he was deposed and exiled, and he died in banishment about 537. The Church honours him as a martyr.
Why is he honoured as a martyr if he died in exile?
The Church counts as martyrdom a death suffered for fidelity to Christ and his Church, including death endured in exile or imprisonment imposed for the faith. Saint Silverius was deposed and banished for refusing to betray the faith, and died in his exile; the Church therefore venerates him among the martyrs.
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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