St. Deusdedit, Pope

Deusdedit's birth date is unknown.

Read the essentials →
November 8 · —

St. Deusdedit

St. Deusdedit, Pope

Deusdedit's birth date is unknown.

Traditional feast

November 8
1914 / pre-1969 calendar, per Baring-Gould (1897)

Current feast

July 14
Secondary source · Wikipedia

Represents

Feast

Their story

Adapted in modern English from the Catholic Encyclopedia (1913) · original text below

Deusdedit's birth date is unknown. He was consecrated pope in 615 and died on 8 November 618, and he was known for his charity and zeal. In a time of political trouble he encouraged and supported the clergy, who had been impoverished by the troubles.

When his diocese was struck by a violent earthquake and then by leprosy, he set a heroic example in caring for the sick. The few decrees credited to him are not authentic. He is said to have been the first pope to seal documents with lead. One seal from his reign survives: on one side the Good Shepherd among His sheep, with Alpha and Omega below; on the other, the words Deusdedit Papæ. His feast is 8 November.

Early life

The book says little or nothing about early life. This is how the account begins.

Thin entry · the 1897 book gives only 0 words. We have not filled the gap with invented detail.

What they represent

How they teach us to live

Drawn from themes in the original account

Keep their day. Remember them on November 8 with a short prayer, and ask for their help.

From the Catholic Encyclopedia

1913 · 136 words

Date of birth unknown; consecrated pope, 19 October (13 November), 615; d. 8 November (3 December), 618; distinguished for his charity and zeal. He encouraged and supported the clergy, who were impoverished in consequence of the political troubles of the time; and when his diocese was visited by a violent earthquake and the terrible scourge of leprosy he set an heroic example by his efforts to relieve the suffering. The few decretals ascribed to him are unauthenticated. He is said to have been the first pope to use leaden seals (bullæ) for pontifical documents. One dating from his reign is still preserved, the obverse of which represents the Good Shepherd in the midst of His sheep, with the letters Alpha and Omega underneath, while the reverse bears the inscription: Deusdedit Papæ. His feast occurs 8 November.

Read more

The full original · 0 words

Read Baring-Gould’s full account

Baring-Gould’s sources: Roman Martyrology. Authority Anastatius Bibliothecarius.] Deusdedit succeeded Boniface IV. in 615, and reigned till November 4, 618. He was the son of a subdeacon, named Stephen. He forbade marriage between the son of a man who had stood sponsor to a girl and that girl, on the ground that spiritual relationship made such a marriage to be incestuous. He is reported to have cured a leper ot elephantiasis by a kiss. Nothing more is known of this pope. He was buried on November 8th.

Feast days

Feast: July 14
Traditional: November 8

Nine days · Free

Pray the novena
with us.

One short email a day for nine days. The day's prayer, a line from St. Deusdedit's story, and a nudge to keep going.

Also on November 8
Q

Sts. Quatuor Coronati

November 8 · Martyrs
C

St. Cuby

November 8 · Bishop
S

St. Sulien

November 8 · Abbot
← All 1726 saints in the library
Sources & notes

Feast-day sources

Story sources

Sources

Credits

Image: Gravesites of Mellitus, Justus and Laurence at St. Augustine's Abbey.jpg · Ealdgyth · CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

From Sabine Baring-Gould, The Lives of the Saints, new edition in 16 vols. (London: John C. Nimmo, 1897–98); text from the Internet Archive scan (OCR, lightly cleaned; errors possible). Public domain.

Image: Ealdgyth, Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0)

From “Catholic Encyclopedia (1913)/Pope St. Deusdedit,” The Catholic Encyclopedia (New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1907–1914), via Wikisource. Public domain. Matched by name and feast date; text unedited except for our bracketed notes in grey.

From Sabine Baring-Gould, The Lives of the Saints, new edition in 16 vols. (London: John C. Nimmo, 1897–98); text from the Internet Archive scan (OCR, lightly cleaned; errors possible). Public domain in the United States. Reproduced unedited, except for short bracketed notes in grey that we added to explain names and terms (“S.” is the old abbreviation for Saint). Some history and judgments reflect 19th-century scholarship.