Who he was
According to the Liber Pontificalis, Vitalian was from Segni and his father was named Anastasius; nothing is known of his life before he became pope. He worked for friendlier relations with Constantinople and in 663 received the Emperor Constans II in Rome, though the emperor stripped the city of much of its bronze.
What he is remembered for
He is best remembered in England: after the Synod of Whitby he chose and consecrated the Greek monk Theodore of Tarsus as Archbishop of Canterbury in 668 and sent him with Abbot Hadrian, and Theodore was accepted as head of the whole English Church. He also upheld Rome's authority when the Archbishop of Ravenna tried to make his see independent.
He is honoured by the Church as Saint. Read his page in the dictionary of saints.
Sources
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