Find a Saint Home
Boniface II
Mosaic portrait in the Basilica of St Paul Outside the Walls, Rome. Photo: Unknown authorUnknown author, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Popes

Boniface II

The 55th pope

Pope from
22 September 530
Pope until
532
Died
532

Who he was

Boniface, son of Sigisbald, is the first pope recorded with Germanic ancestry. He served the Roman Church from youth and was archdeacon under Felix IV, who named him as his successor. Most of the clergy instead elected Dioscorus, but Dioscorus died after twenty-two days and Boniface was then accepted.

What he is remembered for

He confirmed the Second Council of Orange, which brought the Semipelagian dispute about grace to a close. He tried to name his own successor, the deacon Vigilius, but withdrew the decree when it met opposition. He was remembered for his charity to the poor of Rome during a famine. He died in October 532.

Sources

All popes · Home · All saints