View source for Pope Anacletus

{{Short description|Head of the Catholic Church from c. 80 to c. 92}}
{{redirect|Anacletus|the antipope|Antipope Anacletus II}}
{{Infobox Christian leader
| type = Pope
| honorific-prefix = [[Pope Saint]]
| name = Anacletus
| title = [[Bishop of Rome]]
| image = Interior of Chiesa dei Gesuiti (Venice) - sacristy - Papa Cleto - 1592-1593 - by Palma il Giovane.jpg
| term_start = {{Circa|80}}
| term_end = {{Circa|92}}
| predecessor = [[Pope Linus|Linus]]
| successor = [[Pope Clement I|Clement I]]
| birth_date = c. 16
| birth_place = [[Rome]], [[Roman Italy|Italy]], [[Roman Empire]]
| death_date = c. 92
| death_place = [[Rome]], [[Roman Italy|Italy]], [[Roman Empire]]
| consecrated_by = [[Saint Peter|Peter]]
| feast_day = {{ubl|[[26 April]]|[[13 July]] (additional on [[Tridentine calendar]])}}
| imagesize = 
| caption = 16th century painting of Anacletus, in the [[I Gesuiti, Venice]], by [[Palma il Giovane]], with anachronistic [[papal tiara]]
| beatified_date = 
| beatified_place = 
| beatified_by = 
| canonized_date = 
| canonized_place = 
| canonized_by = The Roman Catholic Church
| attributes = 
| patronage = 
| major_shrine = 
| suppressed_date = 
| issues = 
| buried = 
| venerated = {{ubl|[[Catholic Church]]|[[Eastern Orthodox Church]]}}
| church = [[Early Church]]
}}
'''Pope Anacletus''' (born {{Circa|AD 16}} &ndash; died {{Circa|AD 92}}), also known as '''Cletus''', was the [[bishop of Rome]], following [[Saint Peter|Peter]] and [[Pope Linus|Linus]]. Anacletus served between {{Circa|AD 80|lk=no}} and his death, {{Circa|AD 92|lk=no}}. Cletus was a Roman who, during his tenure as pope, ordained a number of priests and is traditionally credited with setting up about twenty-five parishes in Rome.<ref name="Brighton">{{cite web| url = https://brightonoratory.org/2012/07/13/todays-saints-pope-st-anacletus-martyr/| title = "Pope St Anacletus, Martyr", The Brighton Oratory, July 13, 2012| date = 13 July 2012}}</ref> Although the precise dates of his pontificate are uncertain, he "died a martyr, perhaps about 91".<ref name=Campbell/> Cletus is mentioned in the Roman Canon of the mass; his feast day is April 26.

==Name and etymology==
The name "Cletus" ({{langx|grc|Κλητος|Klētos}}) means "one who has been called", and "Anacletus" ({{langx|grc|Ἀνάκλητος|Anaklētos}}) means "one who has been called back". Also "Anencletus" ({{langx|grc|Ἀνάγκλητος}}) means "unimpeachable" or "blameless".<ref name="Richard Lansing p. 178">Richard Lansing, "The Dante Encyclopedia" p. 178, 2010</ref>

The [[Roman Martyrology]] mentions the pope as "Cletus".<ref>"Martyrologium Romanum" (Libreria Editrice Vaticana, 2001 {{ISBN|88-209-7210-7}})</ref> The ''[[Annuario Pontificio]]'' gives both forms. [[Eusebius]], [[Irenaeus]], [[Augustine of Hippo]] and [[Optatus]] all suggest that both names refer to the same individual, while the [[Liberian Catalogue]] counts Cletus and Anacletus as separate popes.<ref name="Campbell">Campbell, Thomas (1907). [http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/01446a.htm "Pope St. Anacletus."] [[Catholic Encyclopedia]]. Vol. 1. New York: Robert Appleton Company.</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA: Pope St. Clement I |url=https://www.newadvent.org/cathen/04012c.htm |access-date=2024-09-30 |website=www.newadvent.org}}</ref>

==Papacy==
As with many of the early popes, little is known of Anacletus' pontificate. Earlier historical records are inconsistent in their usage of the names Cletus, Anacletus, and Anencletus and in the placement of these names in the order of succession. Generally, the order used by [[Irenaeus]] is used today, wherein Cletus and Anacletus refer to the same person, who succeeded Linus and preceded [[Clement of Rome|Clement]].<ref name="Campbell"/> Traditionally, it was accepted that he reigned for twelve years, though the dates of that reign are questionable. The 2012 ''Annuario Pontificio'' states, "For the first two centuries, the dates of the start and the end of the [[pontificate]] are uncertain", before placing Anacletus' pontificate from 80 to 92.<ref name="Brighton"/> These are the years given by [[Eusebius]] and [[Jerome]].<ref>[[Jerome]], ''[[Chronicon (Jerome)|Chronicon]]'', [https://www.tertullian.org/fathers/jerome_chronicle_03_part2.htm AD 80], 2nd year of [[Titus]]: "Cletus (also called [[Anencletus]]) is appointed second bishop of the Roman church for 12 years."
----''Chronicon'', [https://www.tertullian.org/fathers/jerome_chronicle_03_part2.htm AD 92], 12th of [[Domitian]]: "[[Clement of Rome|Clement]] presided as the 3rd bishop of the Church of Rome for nine years."</ref><ref>[[Eusebius]], [[Ecclesiastical History (Eusebius)|''Ecclesiastical History'']], [https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf201.iii.viii.xiii.html VIII, 13]. "In the second year of ([[Titus]]), Linus, who had been bishop of the church of Rome for twelve years, delivered his office to [[Anencletus]]."
----''Ecclesiastical History'', [https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf201.iii.viii.xv.html VIII, 15]. "In the twelfth year of ([[Domitian]]) Clement succeeded Anencletus after the latter had been bishop of the church of Rome for twelve years."</ref> However, 76 to 88 are also frequently cited.<ref name="Brighton"/><ref>{{cite web |title=St. Anacletus {{!}} Biography, Papacy, Feast Day, & Facts {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Saint-Anacletus |website=www.britannica.com |access-date=20 January 2023 }}</ref>

According to tradition, Pope Anacletus divided Rome into twenty-five [[parish]]es. One of the few surviving records concerning his papacy mentions him as having ordained an uncertain number of [[priest]]s.<ref name=Campbell/>

Pope Anacletus was martyred, ending his pontificate.<ref name="Campbell"/> A tomb ascribed to Anacletus is located near [[St. Peter's tomb]] in the [[Vatican Necropolis]] field P, underneath [[St. Peter's Basilica]]. This tomb is located with tombs ascribed to Linus, [[Pope Evaristus|Evaristus]], [[Pope Telesphorus|Telesphorus]], [[Pope Hyginus|Hyginus]], [[Pope Pius I|Pius I]], [[Pope Anicetus|Anicetus]], and [[Pope Victor I|Victor I]]. Little epigraphic evidence exists to support the ascription of these tombs to the early popes.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Reardon |first1=Wendy J. |title=The deaths of the popes : comprehensive accounts, including funerals, burial places and epitaphs |date=2004 |publisher=McFarland & Co., Publishers |location=Jefferson, N.C. |isbn=978-0-7864-1527-4 |pages=23–26}}</ref> His name (as Cletus) is included in the [[Roman Canon]] of the [[Mass (liturgy)|Mass]].

==Veneration==
[[File:Roma (Q. San Basilio) - S. Cleto 16 (cropped).JPG|thumb|Statue of Pope Anacletus, from Church of San Cleto, in Rome]]
The [[Tridentine calendar]] reserved 26 April as the feast day of Saint Cletus, who the church honoured jointly with [[Pope Marcellinus]], and 13 July for solely Saint Anacletus. In 1960, [[Pope John XXIII]], while keeping the 26 April feast, which mentions the saint under the name given to him in the Canon of the Mass, removed 13 July as a feast day for Saint Anacletus. The 14 February 1961 Instruction of the Congregation for Rites on the application to local calendars of [[Pope John XXIII]]'s [[motu proprio]] ''Rubricarum instructum'' of 25 July 1960, decreed that "the feast of 'Saint Anacletus', on whatever ground and in whatever grade it is celebrated, is transferred to 26 April, under its right name, 'Saint Cletus'". Priests who celebrate Mass according to the [[General Roman Calendar of 1954]] keep the July 13th feastday; but the feast has been removed from the [[General Roman Calendar]] since 1960, and as such is not kept even in the 1962 Missal.<ref name=CR>Calendarium Romanum (Libreria Editrice Vaticana 1969), p. 121</ref> Although the day of his death is unknown,<ref name=CR/> Saint Cletus continues to be listed in the [[Roman Martyrology]] among the saints of 26 April.<ref>Martyrologium Romanum (Libreria Editrice Vaticana 2001 {{ISBN|88-209-7210-7}})</ref>

==In literature==
In the [[Divine Comedy]], [[Dante]] mentions him as being placed in the "Heaven of the Fixed Stars" (Paradiso 27.41).<ref name="Richard Lansing p. 178"/>

==Notes==
{{reflist}}

==References==
*[[Donald Attwater]] and Catherine Rachel John, ''The Penguin Dictionary of Saints'', 3rd edition, New York: Penguin Books, 1993. {{ISBN|0-14-051312-4}}.
*Louise Ropes Loomis, ''The Book of Popes'' (''Liber Pontificalis''). Merchantville, New Jersey: Evolution Publishing. {{ISBN|1-889758-86-8}} (Reprint of the 1916 edition.) (Ends with [[Pope Pelagius II|Pope Pelagius]], who reigned from 579 until 590. English translation with scholarly footnotes, and illustrations).
*Richard P. McBrien, ''Lives of the Popes'', (Harper, 2000). {{ISBN|0-06-065304-3}}

==External links==
{{Spoken Wikipedia|En-Pope Anacletus-article.ogg|date=2014-03-02}}
*[http://www.documentacatholicaomnia.eu/01_01_0076-0088-_Anacletus_I,_Sanctus.html ''Writings attributed to Pope Anacletus/Cletus'']
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20170915094913/http://anacletians.org/ ''The Society of Pope Saint Anacletus''], an [[Independent Catholic]] association in the United States

{{s-start}}
{{S-rel|ca}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Pope Linus|Linus]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Bishop of Rome]]|years=79–92}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Clement I]]}}
{{s-end}}

{{Popes}}
{{Catholic saints}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Anacletus}}
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