St. Linus--Pope/Martyr

Today we honor the immediate successor of St. Peter, our first Pope. His name is Linus. He was one of the 70 Disciples of the Lord. ST. Linus was the immediate successor of St. Peter in the see of Rome, as St. Irenæus, Eusebius, St. Epiphanius, St. Optatus, St. Austin, and others assure us. Tertullian says that St. Clement was appointed by St. Peter to be his successor; but either he declined that dignity till St. Linus and St. Cletus had preceded him in it, or he was at first only vicar of St. Peter, to govern under him the Gentile converts, whilst that apostle presided over the whole church, yet so as to be chiefly taken up in instructing the Jewish converts, and in preaching abroad Of course. He was yet another Martyr for the Faith. You know the word martyr means 'witness', right? He was laid right next to St. Peter in the tombs. Very appropriate, if you ask me. Now, about him:


Linus was born at Volterra in Tuscany, and was the first to succeed St. Peter in the government of the Church. His Faith and holiness were so great, that he not only could cast out devils, but he even raised the dead to life. He wrote the acts of blessed Peter, and in particular what he had done against Simon Magus, read (Acts 8:9-25). So Simon became a symbol for everything evil. Whenever Gnostic cults arose in the ensuing centuries, the Catholic Church mercilessly crushed them. When the Protestants denounced the sins of that same Church, the worst of those sins, selling salvation for money, was called Simony–the only sin named after a person.

Linus also decreed that no woman should enter a Church with her head uncovered. (On a note, we still see women in this condition even today. It's like they're saying: "I will not serve, and besides, I don't want to mess up my hair." Or something like that, in my opinion.) It is scriptural, by the way. First Epistle of Saint Paul to the Corinthians (11:5) Back to Linus. On account of his constancy in confessing the Christian (Catholic) Faith, this Pontiff was beheaded by command of Saturninus, a wicked and ungrateful ex-consul, whose daughter he, Linus, had delivered from the tyranny of the devils. He was buried on the Vatican, near the sepulchre of the Prince of the Apostles, on the ninth of the Kalends of October. He governed the Church eleven years, two months, and twenty-three days. In two ordinations in the month of December he consecrated fifteen bishops and eighteen priests.

He truly 'fed the lambs'.