Skip to main content
There's a Saint for That! Search

St. Innocent I

Feast varies

Patron of

About

Pope Innocent I served as bishop of Rome from 401 until his death on March 12, 417. From the beginning of his pontificate he was recognized as the general arbitrator of ecclesiastical disputes in both East and West. He confirmed the prerogatives of the Archbishop of Thessalonica as his vicar in the Eastern Illyricum and issued a decretal on disciplinary matters referred to him by the Bishop of Rouen.

When Saint John Chrysostom was unjustly exiled from Constantinople, Innocent defended him and appealed for his restoration. He consulted with the bishops of Africa on the Pelagian controversy, confirming their synods and upholding grace. His pontificate spanned the sack of Rome by the Visigoths in 410, a catastrophe he labored to relieve. He is honored as a saint in East and West.

church reform, reforming the church, church renewal, ecclesiastical reform, renewing the church, church changes, church improvement, church revitalization, church unity, christian unity, ecumenism, unity of christians, ecumenical, church reunion, christian reunion, unity of the churches, christian reconciliation, church fellowship

Suggested prayer

O God, who made your servant Innocent a steadfast shepherd of the Apostolic See and a defender of justice for the exiled and the oppressed, grant through his intercession that your Church may be united in truth and governed in peace. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Sources

Other saints to pray to

For church reform

For church unity