Who he was
Pelagius was a Roman of noble family who served as papal representative at Constantinople. While Vigilius was away he governed the Church in Rome, spending his own fortune on the starving city during the Gothic siege and persuading the Gothic king Totila to spare its people. He was consecrated in April 556, almost a year after Vigilius died.
What he is remembered for
He accepted the Second Council of Constantinople and worked to reassure the bishops of northern Italy and Gaul that it did not undermine Chalcedon, though a schism persisted in northern Italy. He reorganised the Church's estates, wrecked by the Gothic war, repaired churches and gathered aid for the poor, and was remembered as a father of the poor. He was buried in St Peter's.
Sources
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