St. Sixtus II and Companions
Feast Day: August 7
If you go to Mass and the priest uses the First Eucharistic Prayer, listen carefully.
In the list of saints, you will hear the name Sixtus.
He was a pope.
He was arrested while celebrating the liturgy in a catacomb.
And he died right there with his deacons.
St. Sixtus II and Companions, pray for us.
A Short Papacy
Sixtus II became pope in A.D. 257.
He was known as a peacemaker.
He helped heal a painful dispute with the churches of North Africa and the East over the baptism of heretics.
But he led the Church for less than a year.
The Persecution of Valerian
In A.D. 258, the Emperor Valerian ordered that bishops, priests, and deacons be put to death immediately.
Christians were forbidden to gather, even in their cemeteries.
The Roman government hoped that by killing the Church’s leaders, it could destroy the Church.
Arrested in the Catacombs
On August 6, A.D. 258, Pope Sixtus was celebrating the liturgy with the Christians of Rome in the Catacomb of Callixtus.
Soldiers burst in.
Sixtus was seized while seated in his chair, teaching the faithful.
He was beheaded on the spot.
Four of his deacons were killed with him.
Two more were martyred later that same day.
St. Cyprian of Carthage, writing just weeks later, reported the news to other bishops.
“Greater Trials Are Waiting”
One deacon was not killed that day: Lawrence.
According to an ancient account recorded by St. Ambrose, Lawrence wept, wanting to die with his bishop.
Sixtus told him:
“I am not abandoning you, my son; greater trials are waiting for you.”
— Pope St. Sixtus II, traditional account
Four days later, on August 10, Lawrence was martyred too.
He is one of the most famous martyrs of Rome.
Remembered at Every Mass
Sixtus was so beloved by Roman Christians that his name was placed in the Roman Canon, the oldest Eucharistic Prayer of the Mass.
His tomb in the Catacomb of Callixtus, in the crypt of the popes, became a place of pilgrimage.
What St. Sixtus II Teaches Us
Sixtus teaches us that the Church cannot be destroyed by killing its leaders.
He died in the middle of worship, doing what a bishop does: gathering his people to pray.
He and his deacons remind us that serving God’s people is worth everything.
When Is the Feast of St. Sixtus II and Companions?
The Catholic Church celebrates the optional memorial of St. Sixtus II, Pope, and Companions, Martyrs, on August 7, because August 6 is the Feast of the Transfiguration.
Prayer Inspired by St. Sixtus II
Lord Jesus Christ,
St. Sixtus and his deacons gave their lives while gathered to worship You.
Bless and protect the pope, our bishops, priests, and deacons.
Give courage to Christians who gather to pray in places where it is dangerous,
and help us treasure the Mass.
St. Sixtus II and Companions, pray for us. Amen.
