St. Innocent I, Pope

Pope St. Innocent I

St. Innocent I, a native of Albano, Italy, reigned from 401 to 417 and lived at the same time as Saints Jerome and Augustine. He ascended the throne by compulsion, and considering himself in it with trembling, he never ceased to beg of God the spirit of his holy wisdom and prudence, which he stood the more in need of, as the times in which he lived were more difficult. Alaric the Goth, with an army of barbarians, threatened to carry desolation over all Italy. The pope exhorted the faithful to receive the scourges of heaven with submission and humility, and undertook several journeys to negotiate a reconciliation between the emperor Honorius and Alaric, but in vain. The Goths received a great overthrow from the Roman army commanded by Stilico, in 403. But Alaric led them a second time to attempt the plunder of Rome; and because Honorius refused to make him general of the imperial army, he took that city on the 24th of August, 410, and abandoned it to the fury of his soldiers, excepting the church of SS. Peter and Paul, to which he granted the privilege of a sanctuary. Pope Innocent was at that time absent with the emperor at Ravenna. The year following, Alaric being dead, his brother-in-law and successor Atulphus again plundered Rome.

After the departure of the barbarians, the good pope hastened there, and by his presence brought comfort and joy to that afflicted people. He taught them to draw an advantage from their sufferings by making a good use of them; and so much were the Heathens edified at the patience, resignation, and virtue with which the Christians suffered the loss of their goods and whatever was dear, without any murmuring or complaint, that they came in crowds desiring to be instructed in the faith and baptized.

This energetic Pope is known for his zealous welfare for the entire Church. His decrees became law in Spain, Gaul and Italy. St. Jerome, writing to the virgin Demetrias says of Innocent: "Hold fast to the Faith of holy Innocent, who is the son of Anastasius of blessed memory and his successor in the Apostolic throne; receive no strange doctrine, however shrewd and prudent you may think yourself."
Orosius writes that, like the just Lot, he was withdrawn by God's providence from Rome, and preserved in safety at Ravenna, that he might not be a witness of the ruin of the Roman people. to the Pope for confirmation. During Innocent's pontificate, he emphasized papal supremacy, commending the bishops of Africa for referring the decrees of their councils at Carthage and Millevis in 416, condemning Pelagianism, to the Pope for confirmation. It was his confirmation of these decrees that caused Augustine to make a remark that was to echo through the centuries: "Roma locuta, causa finitas" (Rome has spoken, the matter is ended). Earlier Innocent had stressed to Bishop St. Victrius and the Spanish bishops that matters of great importance were to be referred to Rome for settlement. Innocent strongly favored clerical celibacy and fought the unjust removal of St. John Chrysostom. He vainly sought help from Emperor Honorius at Ravenna when the Goths under Alaric captured and sacked Rome. Innocent died in Rome on March 12. After the condemnation of Pelagius and Celestinus, he decreed, contrary to their heretical teachings, that children, even though born of a Christian mother, must be born again by water, in order that their second birth may cleanse away the stain they have contracted by the first. He also approved the observance of fasting on the Saturday in memory of the burial of Christ our Lord. He sat fifteen years, one month, and ten days on the throne of Peter. He held four ordinations in the month of December, and made thirty priests, fifteen deacons, and fifty-four bishops for diverse places. He was buried in the cemetery called ad Ursum Pileatum.


In 410, during his pontificate, Rome was ravaged by the barbarians of Alaric. He took the responsibility of rebuilding the city and showed great charity in helping the victims.



Comments of Prof. Plinio Correa de Oliveira:

St. Innocent is one of the greatest Popes of the 5th century. It is beautiful to see how he was entirely faithful amidst a hard struggle in a tragic era.

He lived at the time of the fall of the Western Roman Empire, when it seemed as if a multitude of accumulated chastisements fell over the Empire all at once. Historians do not sufficiently emphasize the simultaneous development of two major things at that time. The first, the invasion of the barbarians touched the temporal order, and indirectly shook the Church as well, since those barbarians were either pagans or heretics. The second, various heresies burst out everywhere when the Church emerged from the catacombs. Therefore, the Church faced attacks equal to, or even worse than, those which chastised the State.

However, the two institutions, the Church and the State, had different destinies. While the putrid Roman State disappeared, the Church produced great Popes, not ecumenical Popes but rather warrior Pontiffs who relentlessly fought against the heresies, making continuous excommunications and wounding the enemies of the Church as much as they could.



Pope Innocent I faced the sacking of Rome by Alaric in 410.
The Roman Emperors adopted a pacifist policy, permitting the barbarians to cross the military posts of the Empire that had been constructed near the natural barriers of the Rhine and Danube rivers. After crossing those lines, the barbarians were allowed to remain inside the Empire and settle land there. Once the Empire’s army became accustomed to their presence and let down its guard, the barbarians started their invasions from within.

On the contrary, the great Popes of those times did not take a pacifist attitude. They energetically fought the enemies of the Church and strongly defended the doctrine of Our Lord Jesus Christ.

The result of these two opposite policies is that the Western Roman Empire ended, while the Church - led by Popes like St. Innocent - rose to a most glorious destiny. Those Popes were the first great men who constituted the foundation for the Middle Ages.

These considerations show us how that energetic policy of the Popes to resolve the problems of the Church and defend the truth is the correct one.

Let us pray to Pope St. Innocent I to give us energy like his to defend the cause of the Catholic Church in these days of abomination in which we live, even if the example we receive from high places is the opposite.