Feast Day of Pope Saint Sixtus II
Pope, and Companions, MartyrsLoyola Press tells us:
"In 257, when Sixtus became pope, being a Christian had suddenly become dangerous. For a while, Emperor Valerius had been appreciative of Christians, and many of his high officials were Christians. But suddenly he accused Christians of being enemies of the government. In the midst of this, Pope Sixtus struggled for a year to guide the Church through many difficulties, some dealing with false teachers, some with Baptism...One day during Mass in the catacombs, Valerius’s soldiers appeared. In view of the community, the soldiers beheaded Sixtus and four deacons who were assisting him. The men were killed simply because they were Christians."