Eleuterus
bishop of Rome from c. 174 to 189
Feast: 26 May (1962 Missal, commemoration) · not on the current Roman calendar
Who they were
Eleutherius, said to be from Nicopolis in Greece, was a deacon of the Roman Church under Popes Anicetus and Soter, and succeeded Soter around 174, reigning until about 189. In his time the Montanist movement reached Rome and Gaul. During the persecution at Lyons in 177, the imprisoned confessors there wrote to him about it, sending their letter by the priest Irenaeus, soon afterwards bishop of Lyons.
The miracles
There was never a formal cause: Eleutherius has been honoured as a saint since the early Church.
Why that counted as sanctity
Eleutherius guided the Church of Rome through the first great controversies of the second century, trusted by the martyrs of Lyons.
- Catholic Encyclopedia (1913), via New Advent - Pope St. Eleutherius
- Wikidata Q101090 — dates, feast day and identifiers (CC0)
- English Wikipedia — Pope Eleutherius (CC BY-SA)
Checked against the sources listed on 21 September 2026. Corrections welcome.