Pope Boniface IV (Latin:Bonifatius IV; 550 – 8 May 615[a]) was thebishop of Rome from 608 to his death on 8 May 615.[a] He was a member of theBenedictine order. Boniface had served as a deacon underPope Gregory I, and like his mentor, he ran theLateran Palace as a monastery. Aspope, he encouragedmonasticism. With imperial permission, he converted thePantheon into a church. In 610, he conferred with BishopMellitus of London regarding the needs of the English Church. He isvenerated as a saint in theCatholic Church with a universalfeast day on 8 May.
Boniface was born in what is now theProvince of L'Aquila. His father was a physician named John. His family was ofMarsi origins according to the Liber Pontificalis.[5] During the pontificate ofGregory the Great, Boniface was a deacon of the Roman Church and held the position ofdispensator, that is, the first official in connection with the administration of thepatrimonies.[4]
Bust of Boniface IV inSan Benedetto dei Marsi, describing him as "of the nation of theMarsi and of the community of Valeria."
Boniface IV waselected to succeedBoniface III, but a vacancy of over nine months ensued, awaitingimperial confirmation fromConstantinople. He was consecrated on either 25 August, according toDuchesne, or 15 September, according toJaffé, in 608.[4] The Vatican lists the official beginning of his papacy as 25 September.
Boniface obtained leave from EmperorPhocas to convert thePantheon inRome into a Christian church, and on 13 May 609,[6] the temple erected byAgrippa toJupiter the Avenger,Venus, andMars was consecrated by the pope in honor of theVirgin Mary and all the Martyrs. It was the first instance in Rome of a pagan temple being transformed into a place of Christian worship. Twenty-eight cartloads of sacred bones were said to have been removed from theCatacombs and placed in a porphyry basin beneath the high altar.[4]
In 610,Mellitus, the firstbishop of London, went to Rome "to consult the pope on important matters relative to the newly established English Church". While in Rome, he assisted at a synod then being held concerning certain questions on "the life and monastic peace ofmonks", and, on his departure, took to England the decree of the council together with letters from the pope to ArchbishopLaurence of Canterbury and to all the clergy, to KingÆthelberht of Kent, and to all theAnglo-Saxons.[2] The decrees of the council now extant are spurious. The letter to Æthelberht[7] is considered spurious byHefele,[8] questionable byHaddan andStubbs,[9] and genuine by Jaffé.[10]
Between 612 and 615, the Irish missionaryColumbanus, then living atBobbio in Italy, was persuaded by KingAgilulf of Lombardy to address a letter on the condemnation of the "Three Chapters" to Boniface IV. He told the pope that he was suspected of heresy for accepting theFifth Ecumenical Council and exhorted him to summon a council and prove his orthodoxy.[4] There is no record of a rejoinder from Boniface.
Inspired by Gregory the Great, Boniface IV converted his house into amonastery, where he retired and died on 8 May. He was succeeded byAdeodatus I, who reversed his policy favouring monasticism. Boniface IV was buried in the portico ofSt. Peter's Basilica. His remains were three times removed — in the tenth or eleventh century, at the close of the thirteenth century underBoniface VIII, and to the new St. Peter's on 21 October 1603.[4] Boniface IV is commemorated as a saint in theRoman Martyrology on his feast day, 8 May.[2]
This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Oestreich, Thomas (1907). "Pope St. Boniface IV". In Herbermann, Charles (ed.).Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 2. New York: Robert Appleton Company. Endnotes:
Jaffé, Philipp (1881) [1851].Regesta Pontificum Romanorum ab condita ecclesia ad annum 1198. Vol. I (2d ed.). Leipsic. p. 220.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
