The Catacombs of Saint Callixtus - The Crypt of the Popes

THE CRYPT OF THE POPES

La Cripta dei Papi
© Pontificia Commissione di Archeologia Sacra

It is the most sacred and important place in these catacombs, discovered by the great archaeologist de Rossi in 1854, and labelled by him as " the little Vatican, the central monument of all Christian cemeteries". It originated towards the 2nd C. as a private crypt. When the "First Area" came under the direct dipendence of the Church of Rome, it was thought suitable to transform that burial chamber into the cemetery of the Popes.
In its lower part the crypt had four niches containing sarcophagi, and twelve tombs, six on each side: 16 sepulchres in all. In front of the end-wall, a table-tomb ("a mensa") was built
The sepulchres, now empty, once contained the remains of 9 Popes and of 8 Bishops of the 3rd century.
You can still see the original inscriptions on the wall, though broken and incomplete, regarding five of the Popes. Their names are written in Greek, following the official usage of the Church in that time.
On four tombstones, next to the name of the Pontiff, there is the title of epì(scopos), which means "bishop", because he was the head of the Church of Rome. The title papa (pope - father), became exclusive to the bishop of Rome during the 4th century. On two slabs some years later was added the abbreviation MRT ("martyr", which means "witness").This title was given to the Christians who had witnessed their faith in Christ, by shedding their blood.

The names of the Popes, written on the tombstones, are:

St. Pontianus (230-235), died a martyr in Sardinia, where he had been exiled and condemned to hard labour in the mines, ad metalla. Shortly after his arrival there, he abdicated in order to avoid making difficulties for the Church during his absence.
The unhealthy climate, the racking work in the mines and the bad treatment probably hastened his end. When he died, the Church considered him a true martyr. A few years later. pope Fabian had his body brought back from Sardinia and given honourable burial in the Crypt of the Popes in St. Callixtus.

St. Antherus (235-236), of Greek origin, had a very brief pontificate, only 43 days, all of them passed in prison.

Lapide di Papa Fabiano
© Pontificia Commissione di Archeologia Sacra

St. Fabian (236-250) was a Roman and was elected pope on the death of St. Antherus. His pastoral ministry of 14 years coincided with a period of religious peace. He was a great organiser of the Church of Rome. He divided the city into seven ecclesiastical regions, each with its tituli (parishes), clergy and catacombs He died by decapitation during the persecution of emperor Decius.

St.Lucius I (253-254). His pontificate was short: eight months in all, part of which passed in exile at Civitavecchia.

St. Eutichian (275-283), from Luni, in Liguria (Italy), was the last of the nine Popes to be buried in this crypt.

St. Sixtus II (257-258), called by St. Ciprian "a good and peace-loving priest", is certainly one of the most illustrious martyrs of the early Church. He is considered the martyr par excellence of the Catacombs of St. Callixtus. While he was conducting a religious service in the Catacombs of St. Callixtus, Sixtus was arrested by the Emperor Valerian's soldiers. After a very hasty trial he was beheaded on the spot on that same day, the 6th of August 258, and with him four deacons.

Two poems by St. Damasus (366-384).

On the right-hand wall of the Crypt of the Popes there are two original fragments of a poem by Damasus, celebrating Sixtus II's martyrdom:

"At the time when the sword (persecution)
pierced the bowels of the Mother (Church),
I,(now) buried here, taught as pastor (pope)
the Word of God (the divine Scriptures).
When suddenly the soldiers rushed in,
dragged me from the (episcopal) chair.
The faithful offered their necks to the sword,
But as soon as the Pastor saw the ones
who wished to rob him of the palm (of martyrdom)
he was the first to offer himself
and his own head, not tolerating
that the (pagan) frenzy should harm the others.
Christ, who gives recompense,
made manifest the Pastor's merit,
preserving unharmed the flock".

Three more Popes buried in the crypt are: St. Stephen (254-257), St. Dionysius (259-268) and St.Felix(269-274); there is no trace of their epitaphs.

In the 4th century this burial place was transformed by pope Damasus into a small underground church; the walls were decorated with marbles; in the roof two skylights were opened; an altar was placed in front of the marble slab; two spiral columns rested on high basis which still remain in place. They supported an architrave which carried, according to the ancient usage, lamps, crosses and ornamental wreaths.
Before the tomb of Sixtus II, on the lower part of the wall, pope Damasus placed a poem in Latin hexameters, perhaps the most famous of all his compositions. He commemorates the martyrs and confessors buried in the crypt and in the entire catacomb:

"If you are looking for, know that here lies a host of the Blessed.
The venerable sepulchres enclose the bodies of the Saints,
but the royal palace of heaven carried off to itself their sublime souls.
Here lie the companions of Sixtus who bear the trophies won from the enemy.
Here the group of the elders who keep guard of the altars of Christ.
Here the bishop who lived through the long peace.
Here the holy Confessors sent to us from Greece.
Here the young men and children, the old men and their chaste nephews
who preferred to keep their virgineal purity.
Here too,I, Damasus, confess I would have liked to have been buried
were it not for fear of vexing the holy ashes of the Blessed".

"The companions of Sixtus" are the four deacons : Gennarius, Magnus, Vincent and Stephen, who were martyred with him. "The group of the elders, who keep guard of the altars of Christ" are clearly the popes buried in this catacomb. "The bishop who lived through the long peace" refers to a pope who lived before the great persecutions roused by Diocletian between the end of the 3rd and the first years of the 4th century: he is either Fabian or Dionysius or Eutichian.
"The holy confessors sent to us from Greece" are probably a group of martyrs : Martia, Neon, Hippolytus, Adria, Paulina, Martha, Valeria, Eusebius and Marcellus, who were buried in the "Callixtian Complex".

Passing through a narrow opening on the left of the end wall of the Crypt of the Popes, we reach the Crypt of St. Cecilia.