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As we deepen our relationship with the Eternal Word, Jesus Christ, we grow in grace and are transformed by His love and mercy.
January 6, 255–January 16, 309
Patron Saint of stablemen, horses, horse groomers
Pope St. Marcellus I served as pope during one of the most turbulent periods in early Church history. Elected in 308 after a long vacancy following Pope Marcellinus’s death, Pope St. Marcellus inherited a Church deeply wounded by the Diocletian persecution. Many Christians had apostatized under pressure, and divisions ran deep over how to reconcile them.
Pope St. Marcellus established a system of penance for the Lapsi, those who had renounced their faith under pressure. The lapsed Christians would be required to repent publicly as penance and a path to restore communion with the Church. This policy, though rooted in mercy and discipline, sparked fierce opposition from some factions, especially those who wanted immediate reconciliation without penance.
Tensions escalated into civil unrest, and Emperor Maxentius, seeking to restore order, exiled Pope St. Marcellus. According to accounts, he was put to work as a stable slave, cleaning the stables, caring for the horses, and performing other menial tasks.
Pope St. Marcellus died shortly thereafter, likely from the hardships of exile. Although he was not executed, he is honored as a martyr for suffering to restore fidelity to truth and unity to the Church. He was buried in the Cemetery of St. Priscilla on the Via Salaria. His epitaph, composed by Pope Damasus I, praises Pope St. Marcellus as a truth-telling ruler, laments his death, and honors the merit of his actions.
Pope Damasus’s inscription tells Pope St. Marcellus’s story in eight lines. He explains that Pope St. Marcellus’s firm and unyielding requirements provoked a violent reaction from many of the lapsed Christians who sought reconciliation with the Church. The resulting tumult led Maxentius to exile the pope, who then died shortly after leaving Rome.
The full Latin text of the epitaph found by Giovanni Battista De Rossi was translated as follows:
Because the true bishop made the lapsed weep for their sins
A turbulent enemy of the faith with a troubled mind and rage
Sedition, murder, war, discord, and quarrels [broke out]
They tried to break the covenant of perpetual peace
Likewise driven out by the tyranny of the tyrant
When the bishop preserved the covenants of peace intact
He bore exile happily under the Lord as his judge
He left the world and life on the Sicilian shore
Pope St. Marcellus I’s approach to reconciliation for the Lapsi was very firm and unwavering. They were to repent publicly as a sign of penance for reconciliation. The Lapsi wanted full communion with the Church without any requirement for penance or repentance for their apostasy. Pope St. Marcellus believed that authentic contrition and reparation were necessary for reconciliation. Refusing to compromise Church doctrine, Pope St. Marcellus refused to meet their demands. The Lapsi, enraged that their demands had not been met, engaged in civil unrest and complained to the Emperor. Pope St. Marcellus was arrested and exiled, where he eventually died.
Pope St. Marcellus I is considered a martyr because he died as a result of the hardships of exile, which were a direct consequence of his actions to rebuild the Church after Emperor Diocletian’s persecutions. Accounts of the conditions of his exile differ. Some say he was given hard labor as a stable slave, while other accounts say he endured harsh conditions that led to his death during his exile. Despite the differing details, St. Marcellus suffered severe conditions that led to his death because of his faith and his leadership in the Church. His steadfastness in fidelity to the Truth under persecution was an act of martyrdom for the Faith.
We hope this special eBook will draw you closer to our Blessed Mother and her Son, Jesus Christ. We trust that the following pages will bring your heart under her mantle, as we share a few of the beautiful and befitting names bestowed upon the Blessed Virgin Mary.
Dr. O’Donnell explores the Church of San Marcello, or St. Marcellus, a pope, who, for his witness to Jesus Christ, was condemned to martyrdom working in the stables of the imperial household. He was put at hard labor, performing difficult, menial tasks.
As we deepen our relationship with the Eternal Word, Jesus Christ, we grow in grace and are transformed by His love and mercy.
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