Silverius

Saint Silverius was born in Frosinone, in Lazio, Italy, sometime before his father, Pope Hormisdas, entered the priesthood. Though only a subdeacon, he was unexpectedly raised to the See of Rome and consecrated pope on June 8, 536, in a time of fierce political turmoil as the Gothic War loomed over Italy. His brief pontificate was marked by the struggle between Ostrogothic and Byzantine powers, and by pressure to bend the Church’s leadership to imperial aims. When the Byzantine general Belisarius entered Rome, the city soon endured siege and hunger. Silverius was accused of conspiring with the Goths and was deposed in 537. Sent into exile, he was ultimately confined to the bleak island of Palmarola in the Pontine Islands, where he died of starvation in 537, bearing his suffering with the quiet witness of a pastor wronged. Venerated by the faithful through popular devotion, he is honored as patron of Ponza and Valprato Soana. His feast day is June 20.