Profile
Boniface was the son of a physician named John. He was a student under Saint Gregory the Great. He was a Benedictine monk at the Saint Sebastian Abbey in Rome, Italy. He served as deacon under Saint Gregory the Great; He was a dispenser of alms and patrimonies. He was chosen as the 67th Pope in 608.
Boniface converted the Roman temple of the old gods, the Pantheon, to a Christian church dedicated to Our Lady and all the Martyrs in 609, the first such conversion of a temple from pagan to Christian use in Rome. He supported the expansion of the faith into England, and met with the first bishop of London. He encouraged reforms among the clergy, and balanced it with improvements in their living and working conditions. He corresponded with Saint Columba. He worked to alleviate the sufferings in Rome due to famine and the disease that follows it. Late in life, he converted his own house into a monastery and lived there, dividing his time between his papal work and life as a prayerful monk.
Born
- c.550 at Valeria, Abruzzi, Italy
Papal Ascension
- 25 August 608
Died
- 615 at Rome, Italy of natural causes
- relics moved c.1100
- relics moved in the late 13th century by order of Pope Boniface VIII
- relics re-interred in Saint Peter’s Basilica, Rome, Italy on 21 October 1603
Canonized
- Pre-Congregation
Source: https://catholicsaints.info/pope-saint-boniface-iv/
