Birthplace
Rome
Pope from
21 July 230
Pope until
28 September 235
Died
c. 235
Who he was
Pontian, a Roman, was elected on 21 July 230. In his time a Roman synod upheld the Church of Alexandria's condemnation of Origen. In 235 the Emperor Maximinus Thrax exiled him, with Hippolytus, to the mines of Sardinia.
What he is remembered for
He resigned on 28 September 235 so that the Church could elect a successor, and died soon after from the hardships of exile. Hippolytus was reconciled to the Church, ending his schism. Pope Fabian brought Pontian's body home to the papal crypt of the Catacomb of St Callistus, where his epitaph was found in 1909.
He is honoured by the Church as Saint. Read his page in the dictionary of saints.
Sources
All popes · Home · All saints