St. Pius I
Pius · ~142 – ~155
Led the Church during a period of growth and may have been the brother of the author of the Shepherd of Hermas.
Pius was reportedly from Aquileia in northern Italy. The Muratorian Fragment identifies him as the brother of Hermas, the author of the popular early Christian text The Shepherd. If true, this places Pius in a family deeply embedded in Roman Christian life. His pontificate saw continued growth of the Church during a relatively peaceful period. He is credited with setting the date of Easter to always fall on a Sunday, though this question would continue to be debated for another two centuries.
A Family Connection
If Pius really was Hermas' brother, it tells us something about the early Church: leadership ran through networks of families and communities, not formal institutions. The Shepherd of Hermas was one of the most widely read Christian texts of the second century, and having the pope's brother as its author gave it extra weight.