St. Paul I

Paul · 757 – 767

Brother of Pope Stephen II, he deepened the Frankish alliance and rescued relics from abandoned Roman catacombs.

Paul was a Roman, the brother of his predecessor Pope Stephen II. He continued his brother's policy of close alliance with the Frankish king Pepin. When the Lombards threatened Rome again, Paul appealed to Pepin for help, and the Frankish king intervened. Paul also undertook a major project of translating relics from the Roman catacombs, which were falling into decay and becoming dangerous, into churches within the city walls. He was generous to the poor and to prisoners, and he converted his family home into a monastery.

Saving the Bones

The Roman catacombs were crumbling. Floods, neglect, and raids had made them unsafe. Paul organized the transfer of martyrs' relics into city churches where they could be properly venerated and protected. It was not glamorous work, but it preserved the physical memory of the early Church for future generations.