Saint Zephyrinus, Pope & Martyr
S. Zephyrini Papae et Martyris
Saint Zephyrinus governed the Church of Rome at the turn of the third century, in a time of trial and controversy, and is venerated among the early popes and martyrs.
Saint Zephyrinus was Bishop of Rome from about the year 199 until his death around 217, holding the chair of Peter through nearly two decades at the turn of the third century. He is venerated among that long line of early Roman pontiffs who shepherded the Church through the age of persecution and who guarded the deposit of faith handed down from the Apostles.
A shepherd of the early Church
Saint Zephyrinus governed the Roman Church in an age when the faith had to be defended both from without, by the threat of persecution, and from within, by errors that troubled the Christian community concerning the mystery of the Holy Trinity and the divinity of Christ. The records that have come down to us remember him as a defender of the apostolic faith in these controversies, and as one who upheld the teaching of the Church amid the disputes of his day. In this work he was aided by the deacon Callistus, who would succeed him as Pope and is likewise venerated as a saint.
Of the particulars of his life little else is known with certainty. He lived and laboured in a time of danger for Christians at Rome, and tradition has long numbered him among the martyrs, joining his memory to that of the many bishops of Rome of the early centuries who bore witness to Christ in a season of trial. Where the details are uncertain, the Church is content to honour what is sure: his office as successor of Saint Peter, and his fidelity in a difficult age.
His veneration
The collect of his feast is that of the common of a Supreme Pontiff, in which the Church prays to the Eternal Shepherd to look with favour upon his flock and to keep it under continual protection through the intercession of blessed Zephyrinus, whom he set as shepherd over the whole Church. In this prayer the faithful honour not only the man but the sacred office he held.
His feast is kept on the twenty-sixth of August. In Saint Zephyrinus the Church remembers the early successors of Peter, of whom little may now be known, but whose steadfast guardianship of the faith in the age of persecution and controversy is part of the foundation on which the Church has been built.
The Collect
O eternal Shepherd, look favourably upon thy flock, and keep it under thy continual protection, through blessed Zephyrinus thy Supreme Pontiff, whom thou didst appoint shepherd of the whole Church.
Gregem tuum, Pastor ætérne, placátus inténde: et, per beátum Zephýrinum Summum Pontíficem, perpétua protectióne custódi; quem totíus Ecclésiæ præstitísti esse pastórem.
Patronage
He is venerated among the early popes and martyrs of the Roman Church.
In the Modern Calendar
In the modern calendar he is no longer kept on the universal calendar.
Common Questions
When is the feast of Saint Zephyrinus?
His feast is kept on 26 August in the calendar of the 1962 Roman Missal, as a Fourth Class feast.
Who was Saint Zephyrinus?
He was Bishop of Rome from about 199 to 217, one of the early successors of Saint Peter, who guided the Church through a time of persecution and of controversy concerning the faith. He was assisted by the deacon Callistus, his successor, and is venerated among the early popes and, by tradition, among the martyrs.
How much is reliably known about him?
That he governed the Roman Church at the turn of the third century, in an age of doctrinal controversy, is recorded; but many particulars of his life have not come down to us. The Church honours soberly what is sure — his office as successor of Saint Peter and his fidelity in a difficult age — without adding to it.
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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