St. Damasus I
Damasus · 366 – 384
Commissioned Jerome to translate the Bible into Latin and established the canon of Scripture, shaping Catholic worship for over a thousand years.
Damasus became pope after a disputed election that turned violent, with rival factions clashing in street battles that killed over a hundred people. It was not an auspicious start. But once established, he proved a capable and consequential pope. He commissioned his secretary Jerome to produce a reliable Latin translation of the Bible, a project that became the Vulgate and remained the Church's standard Scripture for sixteen centuries. He promoted the cult of the martyrs, restoring catacombs and composing elegant inscriptions for their tombs. He convened the Council of Rome in 382, which produced the first authoritative list of canonical books of the Bible. He also championed the primacy of the Roman See, grounding papal authority in Peter's commission from Christ.
The Pope Who Gave Us the Bible
When Catholics hold a Bible, they're holding a book whose contents were defined under Damasus and whose standard translation he commissioned. Jerome's Vulgate shaped Western Christianity's relationship with Scripture for over a millennium. Damasus had the foresight to see that the Church needed one reliable, authoritative text, and he found the right man to produce it.