Pope Adeodatus I

Adeodatus I
Papacy began	November 13, 615
Papacy ended	November 8, 618
Predecessor	Boniface IV
Successor	Boniface V
Personal details
Birth name	Deusdedit, son of Stephen
Born	??? Rome, Byzantine Empire
Died	November 8, 618(618-11-08) Rome, Byzantine Empire

Papal styles of Pope Adeodatus I
Reference style	His Holiness
Spoken style	Your Holiness
Religious style	Holy Father
Posthumous style	Saint

Pope Saint Adeodatus I or Deodatus I (which is Given by God in Latin, also called Deusdedit, which is God Has Given; both are now considered variants of the same name) (died November 8, 618) was Pope from November 13, 615 to his death.

He was born in Rome, the son of a subdeacon. He served as a priest for 40 years before his election, and was the first priest to be elected pope since John II in 533. Adeodatus represents the second wave of anti-Gregorian challenge to the papacy, the first being that of Sabinian. He reversed the practice of his predecessor, Boniface IV, of filling the papal administrative ranks with monks by recalling the clergy to such positions and by ordaining some 14 priests, the first ordinations in Rome since Pope Gregory.^[1]

An earthquake struck Rome during his tenure, in August 618, followed by an outbreak of a scab disease, during which Adeodatus died. There was a vacancy of one year, one month, and 16 days before his successor was consecrated.^[2]

According to tradition, he was the first pope to use lead seals (bullae) on papal documents, which in time came to be called "papal bulls". One bulla dating from his reign is still preserved, the obverse of which represents the Good Shepherd in the midst of His sheep, with the letters Alpha and Omega underneath, while the reverse bears the inscription: Deusdedit Papæ.

His feast occurs November 8.

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References

1. ^ Jeffrey Richards, The Popes and the Papacy in the Early Middle Ages (London: Routledge and Kegan Paul, 1979), p. 262
2. ^ Richards, Popes and the papacy, p. 263

• "Pope St. Deusdedit" in the 1913 Catholic Encyclopedia.

Catholic Church titles
Preceded by Boniface IV	Pope 615–618	Succeeded by Boniface V

Persondata
Name	Adeodatus 01
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth
Place of birth	Rome, Byzantine Empire
Date of death	November 8, 0618
Place of death	Rome, Byzantine Empire