Pope St. John I
Feast Day: May 18
Imagine being sent on a diplomatic mission you did not want.
Your task: ask an emperor to go easy on people who deny a key truth of your faith.
If you fail, your people will suffer.
If you succeed too well, the king who sent you may think you betrayed him.
That was the impossible position of Pope John I.
St. John I, pray for us.
A Divided World
In the early 500s, Italy was ruled by Theodoric, king of the Ostrogoths.
Theodoric was an Arian Christian.
Arians denied that Jesus is fully God, a teaching the Church had rejected at the Council of Nicaea in A.D. 325.
Meanwhile, the Eastern Roman Emperor Justin, in Constantinople, was Catholic.
He began cracking down on Arians in his empire.
An Unwanted Mission
Theodoric was furious.
In A.D. 525, he forced Pope John I, who was elderly and in poor health, to travel to Constantinople.
His task was to persuade Emperor Justin to stop persecuting the Arians.
If the pope refused, Theodoric threatened to punish Catholics in Italy.
The First Pope in Constantinople
John became the first pope ever to travel to Constantinople.
The people and the emperor welcomed him with enormous honor.
The emperor reportedly knelt before him.
John celebrated Easter in the great church of Hagia Sophia.
Prison
John managed to win some relief for the Arians, but not everything Theodoric demanded.
When he returned to Italy, Theodoric suspected he had grown too close to the emperor.
He had the pope thrown into prison at Ravenna.
Already weak from the long journey, John died in prison from mistreatment in May of A.D. 526.
The Church honors him as a martyr.
Gain, Not Loss
St. Paul wrote, “For to me, to live is Christ; and to die is gain” (Philippians 1:21).
John I lived that.
He used the last of his strength for the peace of the Church, and he died faithful.
What St. John I Teaches Us
John I teaches us faithfulness under pressure.
He was caught between powerful rulers and impossible demands.
He did his best, trusted God with the outcome, and accepted the cost.
He also reminds us that the truth that Jesus is fully God was worth defending, even at a high price.
When Is the Feast of St. John I?
The Catholic Church celebrates the optional memorial of St. John I, Pope and Martyr, on May 18.
Prayer Inspired by St. John I
Lord Jesus Christ,
Pope St. John I served Your Church faithfully when caught between powerful rulers.
Give wisdom and courage to the pope and to all who lead Your Church.
Help us stay faithful under pressure,
and trust You with what we cannot control.
St. John I, pray for us. Amen.
