Sixtus II

Pope Sixtus II (d. 258) was the Bishop of Rome from August 257 until his martyrdom on August 6, 258 — one of the most dramatic deaths in early papal history. He was killed along with six of his seven deacons during the fierce persecution of Christians ordered by the Emperor Valerian. Valerian's persecution specifically targeted Christian clergy and gatherings. According to ancient accounts, Sixtus was arrested while celebrating the Eucharist in the Catacomb of Callixtus and was immediately executed — likely by beheading — along with four deacons who were with him. Two more deacons were killed that same day, and the seventh, Lawrence, was martyred four days later in the famous episode of the gridiron. Saint Cyprian of Carthage, writing shortly after these events, recorded the news of Sixtus's death with palpable shock, calling it a harbinger of the intensifying persecution facing the entire Church. Sixtus II's brief pontificate and courageous death made him one of the most venerated papal martyrs, and his name appears in the Roman Canon of the Mass, where it has been recited at every celebration of the Eucharist for centuries.