Profile
Celestine was the son of Priscus. He may have been related to Emperor Valentinian, and may have worked with Saint Ambrose of Milan. He became a deacon in Rome, Italy in 416. Almost nothing else is known about Celestine before his unanimous election as 43rd pope.
Celestine ordered the bishops of Vienne and Narbonne in Gaul to correct doctrinal errors and abuses. He sent Saint Germanus of Auxerre to Britain to oppose Pelagianism in 429, and later wrote a treatise himself against semi-Pelagianism. He opposed the Manichaeans, Donatists, Noviatians whose heresies were spreading. He convened a council in Rome in 430, sent legates to the General Council of Ephesus in 431 to condemn Nestorianism, and excommunicated Nestorius and deposed him. He dispatched Palladius to evangelize Ireland in 431.
Celestine was a friend of and correspondent with Saint Augustine of Hippo; their letters indicate that Rome was the final authority for theology in the 5th century. He restored the basilica of Saint Mary in Trastevere after it had been damaged in Alaric’s sack of Rome. He worked to reform the clergy of Gaul, and ordered that absolution should never be denied to the dying who were sincere in their repentance.
Born
- Campania, Italy
Papal Ascension
- 20 September 422
Died
- 27 July 432 in Rome, Italy of natural causes
- buried in the cemetery of Priscilla in Rome
- his tomb is decorated with painted scenes of the Council of Ephesus
- relics translated to the church of Saint Praxedes on 820
Canonized
- Pre-Congregation
Patronage
- Castelnuovo Rangone, Italy
Representation
- pope with a dove, dragon, and flame
Source: https://catholicsaints.info/pope-saint-celestine-i/
