Pope Anacletus

"Anacletus" redirects here. For the antipope, see Antipope Anacletus II.

Pope Saint Anacletus
Bishop of Rome
Church	Catholic Church
Papacy began	c. 79
Papacy ended	c. 92
Predecessor	Linus
Successor	Clement I
Personal details
Born	c. 25 Rome, Roman Empire
Died	26 April 92(92-04-26) (aged 66–67) Rome, Roman Empire
Sainthood
Feast day	26 April 13 July (additional on Tridentine Calendar)
Venerated in	Catholic Church Eastern Orthodox Church

Pope Anacletus (died c. 92), also known as Cletus, was the bishop of Rome, following Peter and Linus. Anacletus served between c. 79 and his death, c. 92. Cletus was a Roman who, during his tenure as pope, ordained a number of priests and is traditionally credited with setting up about twenty-five parishes in Rome. Although the precise dates of his pontificate are uncertain, he "...died a martyr, perhaps about 91". Cletus is mentioned in the Roman Canon of the mass; his feast day is April 26.

Name and etymology

The name "Cletus" (Ancient Greek: Κλητος, romanized: Klētos) means "one who has been called", and "Anacletus" (Ancient Greek: Ἀνάκλητος, romanized: Anaklētos) means "one who has been called back". Also "Anencletus" (Ancient Greek: Ἀνάγκλητος) means "unimpeachable" or "blameless".

The Roman Martyrology mentions the pope as "Cletus". The Annuario Pontificio gives both forms as alternatives. Eusebius, Irenaeus, Augustine of Hippo and Optatus all suggest that both names refer to the same individual.

Papacy

Cletus/Anacletus was traditionally understood to have been a Roman who served as pope for twelve years. The Annuario Pontificio states, "For the first two centuries, the dates of the start and the end of the pontificate are uncertain". It gives the years 80 to 92 as the reign of Pope Cletus/Anacletus. Other sources give the years 77 to 88.

According to tradition, Pope Anacletus divided Rome into twenty-five parishes. One of the few surviving records concerning his papacy mentions him as having ordained an uncertain number of priests.

Anacletus was buried next to his predecessor, Linus, near the grave of Peter, in what is now Vatican City. His name (as Cletus) is included in the Roman Canon of the Mass.

Veneration

Statue of Pope Anacletus, from Church of San Cleto, in Rome

The Tridentine Calendar reserved 26 April as the feast day of Saint Cletus, who the church honoured jointly with Pope Marcellinus, and 13 July for solely Saint Anacletus. In 1960, Pope John XXIII, while keeping the 26 April feast, which mentions the saint under the name given to him in the Canon of the Mass, removed 13 July as a feast day for Saint Anacletus. The 14 February 1961 Instruction of the Congregation for Rites on the application to local calendars of Pope John XXIII's motu proprio Rubricarum instructum of 25 July 1960, decreed that "the feast of 'Saint Anacletus', on whatever ground and in whatever grade it is celebrated, is transferred to 26 April, under its right name, 'Saint Cletus'". Priests who celebrate Mass according to the General Roman Calendar of 1954 keep the July 13th feastday; but the feast has been removed from the General Roman Calendar since 1960, and as such is not kept even in the 1962 Missal. Although the day of his death is unknown, Saint Cletus continues to be listed in the Roman Martyrology among the saints of 26 April.

Literature

In the Divine Comedy, Dante mentions him as being placed in the "Heaven of the Fixed Stars" (Paradiso 27.41).

References

• Donald Attwater and Catherine Rachel John, The Penguin Dictionary of Saints, 3rd edition, New York: Penguin Books, 1993. ISBN 0-14-051312-4.
• Louise Ropes Loomis, The Book of Popes (Liber Pontificalis). Merchantville, NJ: Evolution Publishing. ISBN 1-889758-86-8 (Reprint of the 1916 edition. (Ends with Pope Pelagius, who reigned from 579 until 590. English translation with scholarly footnotes, and illustrations).
• Richard P. McBrien, Lives of the Popes, (Harper, 2000). ISBN 0-06-065304-3

External links

• Writings attributed to Pope Anacletus/Cletus
• The Society of Pope Saint Anacletus, an Independent Catholic association in the United States