December 11, feast day of Saint Damasus I, patron saint of archeologists.
As the Catholic Apostolate states "the life of St. Damasus demonstrates that saints are humans who face many crises while performing God's work. When he was elected pope, the election of the an anti-pope Ursinus resulted in armed conflicts. Despite this succession crisis he had to overcome, St. Damasus encouraged St. Jerome to prepare a suitable Latin translation of the Bible, now known as the Vulgate. He also increased devotion to the Roman martyrs by restoring access to their tombs and adding epitaphs, many of which still exist today. St. Damasus also helped combat heresies in the Church and he reconciled some issues with Eastern Churches.
Pope Damasus I was the bishop of Rome from October 366 to his death in 384. He presided over the Council of Rome of 382 that determined the canon or official list of sacred scripture. He spoke out against major heresies, including Apollinarianism and Macedonianism and encouraged production of the Vulgate Bible with his support for his secretary Saint Jerome. He helped reconcile the relations between the Church of Rome and the Church of Antioch, and encouraged the veneration of martyrs.
Saint Jerome devoted a very brief notice to Saint Damasus in his De Viris Illustribus, written after Damasus' death: "he had a fine talent for making verses and published many brief works in heroic metre. He died in the reign of the emperor Theodosius at the age of almost eighty"
The son of a Roman priest, Damasus started as a deacon in his father’s church, and served as a priest in what later became the basilica of San Lorenzo in Rome. He served Pope Liberius (352-366) and followed him into exile.
When Liberius died, Damasus was elected bishop of Rome; but a minority elected and consecrated another deacon, Ursinus, as pope. The controversy between Damasus and the antipope resulted in violent battles in two basilicas, scandalizing the bishops of Italy
During his pontificate, Christianity was declared the official religion of the Roman state, and Latin became the principal liturgical language as part of the pope’s reforms. His encouragement of Saint Jerome’s biblical studies led to the Vulgate, the Latin translation of Scripture which 12 centuries later the Council of Trent declared to be “authentic in public readings, disputations, preaching.”
Damasus faced accusations of murder and adultery in his early years as pope, accusations motivated by the conflict with the supporters of Arianism.
Damasus I was active in defending the Catholic Church against the threat of schisms. In two Roman synods (368 and 369) he condemned Apollinarianism and Macedonianism, and sent legates to the First Council of Constantinople that was convoked in 381 to address these heresies.
Prayer to Saint Pope Damasus I
O Saint Damasus, Bishop of Rome
who guided the bark of Peter through difficult waters,
who kept her on the course set for her by the Lord
even as she grew in this world
from a Church of the blood of martyrs
to one entering the light of day,
of acceptance by the city of man.
You who sought so diligently to preserve
the memory of the martyrs
lest it should pass away,
and the Cross of Christ with it,
pray that today, too, the Church will remember its root,
the root of Jesse and His sacrifice,
and that as she grows
our Mother on earth will be well understood
by those called into her walls.
Pray that the martyrs pray for us,
that in their blood we will always find our growth.
Amen.
