Pope Saint Linus

detail of a stained glass window showing Pope Saint Linus giving a nail from the cross of Saint Peter to Saint Clair of Rome; by Ch. Lorin of Chartres, 1905; Church of Saint-Clair, Réguiny, France; photographed on 1 November 2013 by XIIIfromTOKYO; swiped from Wikimedia Commons Memorial

23 September

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Second Pope, and the first to be chosen in Rome, Italy. According to Irenaeus, he is the Linus mentioned by Saint Paul in 2 Timothy 4. His name is mentioned in the prayer “Communicantes” in the Canon of the Mass. Traditionally honoured as a martyr, though there is no certain documentation of this. Nothing else is known of his life, and ancient documents about his papacy have proven to be inaccurate or apocryphal.

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