Sixtus I

Pope Sixtus I (Greek: Σίξτος), also spelled Xystus, a Roman of Greek descent, was the bishop of Rome from 117 or 119 to his death 126 or 128. He succeeded Alexander I and was in turn succeeded by Telesphorus. His feast is celebrated on 6 April. However, the Armenian translation dates Telesphorus’ accession to 124. Eusebius himself begins to show internal inconsistencies for the chronology of this period; Richard Adelbert Lipsius compares the available sources and asserts that Sixtus died between around 125, after a tenure of 10 years. Like most of his predecessors, Sixtus I was believed to have been buried near Peter's grave on Vatican Hill, although there are differing traditions concerning where his body lies today. In Alife, there is a Romanesque crypt, which houses the relics of Pope Sixtus I, brought there by Rainulf III. Alban Butler (Lives of the Saints, 6 April) states that Clement X gave some of his relics to Cardinal de Retz, who placed them in the Abbey of Saint Michael in Lorraine.

Liturgical codification Sixtus I instituted several Catholic liturgical and administrative traditions. According to the Liber Pontificalis (ed. Duchesne, I.128), he passed the following three ordinances: that none but sacred ministers are allowed to touch the sacred vessels; that bishops who have been summoned to the Holy See shall, upon their return, not be received by their diocese except on presenting Apostolic letters; that after the Preface in the Mass, the priest shall recite the Sanctus with the people.