December 11th - Pope Saint Damasus I

Pope Saint Damasus I
Feast Day: December 11th
Patron Saint: Archaeologists
Death: 384AD
Known For: Commissioning New Testament, Commissioning Latin version of Bible, Love of Martyrs


Pope Saint Damasus I was born in what is modern-day Portugal, which was under the Roman Empire at the time. Damasus was eventually ordained a Deacon and would be elected Pope. He did come up against quite a bit of resistance to his papacy due to the rise of various heresies and their supporters. While Damasus would fight many heresies during his days as Pope, he did not let that deter him from doing quite a bit of good work for the Church

He knew that there needed to be organization within the

Church. The first thing that needed organizing was the Bible itself. There were all sorts of stories and writings about Jesus, but not all of them were inspired by the Holy Spirit. He had a commission sort through the writings, and after much prayer and discernment, they selected the 27 books of the New Testament. He would also commission that these books along with the 46 books of the Old Testament be translated into Latin, which was the vernacular of the Roman Empire.

What Damasus loved the most were the stories about the Saints, especially the Martyrs. If there were stories, he would find them. He would also write them down if they were not recorded somehow. It was the hallmark of a man who loved Christ and His Church.