St Eutychian

Who he was

Eutychian succeeded St Felix I a few days after his death and led the Church for nearly nine years, in a long respite from persecution. No details of his pontificate are known.

What he is remembered for

Later tradition credited him with a blessing of the produce of the fields and with burying martyrs with his own hands, but these rest on weak grounds, and he probably did not die a martyr. Fragments of his Greek epitaph were found in the papal crypt of the Catacomb of St Callistus. His feast is 8 December.

He is honoured by the Church as Saint. Read his page in the dictionary of saints.

Sources

• Catholic Encyclopedia (1907-14): Pope St. Eutychianus
• The Holy See: list of the Supreme Pontiffs