Saint Urban I-Pope

Catholic Saint

Feast Day : May 25

Urban was born in Rome, the son of Pontianus. About the year 222 he was elected bishop of Rome to succeed the martyred St. Callistus, and ruled for eight years during a relatively peaceful period of the early Church. St. Hippolytus, as antipope, persisted with his schism, but seems to have had no direct confrontations with Urban. An increase in the extent of the Roman catacombs at this time suggests that the Christian community was growing, not surprising since it had the support of Emperor Alexander Severus. Severus went so far as to grant the Church the right to build a new church on land that was also claimed by tavern-keepers, declaring that it would be better for God to be worshiped there.

Urban died, most likely of a natural death, on May 23, 230, and two days later was laid to rest in the Catacomb of Prætextatus on the Via Appia. Although he is sometimes said to have been buried in the San Callistus cemetery, that was almost certainly a different bishop Urban.