Saint Caius

Catholic Saint

st.Caius-Pope and martyr

Feast Day : April 22

Also known as: Gaius

Caius is said to have been a Dalmatian and a relative of Emperor Diocletian. He succeeded St. Eutychianus as pope on December 17, 283. Caius decreed that only priests could be consecrated bishops; other than that, nothing has come down to us about his pontificate, which must have been unusually tranquil. He ruled for 12 years, four months and seven days, dying of natural causes on April 22, 296. Caius is honored as a martyr, though on a mistaken basis. He is supposed to have fled the Vatican and lived for eight years in a cave or catacomb during the Diocletian persecution which, however, did not begin until seven or eight years after his death. He was the last pontiff interred in the papal crypt of the Catacomb of St. Callistus on the Appian Way. He shares a feast day with Pope St. Soter (d. ca. 175) and is venerated especially in Dalmatia and Venice. In art, Caius is shown with St. Nereus, wearing the papal tiara