Pius I was the bishop of Rome from c. 140 to his death in c. 154. Little is known of this first Pius, but according to tradition, he governed the church in the middle of the 2nd century during the reigns of Antonius Pius and Marcus Aurelius. He is the ninth successor of St. Peter and decreed that Easter should be kept on a Sunday.
The heretics Valentinus, Cerdon, and Marcion visited Rome during the period of his pontificate, and it is believed that Pius I opposed the Valentinians and Gnostics under Marcion, whom he excommunicated.
The earlier editions of the Roman Breviary state that Pius was a martyr, however the 1969 revision of the Roman Calendar stated that there were no grounds for considering him as a martyr. His feast day was, at first, held as the rank of "Simple,", but it was changed to a "Commemoration" in 1955. Today, he is no longer mentioned in the Roman Calendar, but his feast may be celebrated as a Memorial.
The Breviary gives us his short biography:
Pius, the first of this name, a citizen of Aquileia, and son of Rufinus, was priest of the Holy Roman Church. During the reign of Antonius Pius and Marcus Aurelius he was chosen sovereign pontiff. In five ordinations which he held in the month of December, he ordained 12 bishops and 18 priests. Several admirable decrees of his are still extant; in particular that which ordains that the resurrection of our Lord is always to be celebrated on a Sunday. He changed the House of Putin's into a church, and because it surpassed the other titles in dignity, in as much as the Roman pontiffs had made it their dwelling place, he dedicated it under the title of Pastor. Here he often celebrated the holy mysteries, baptized many who had been converted to the faith, and enrolled them in the ranks of the faithful. While he was thus fulfilling the duties of a good shepherd, he shed his blood for his sheep and for Christ the Supreme Pastor, being crowned with martyrdom on the 5th of the ides of July. He was buried in the Vatican.
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Dom Prosper Gueranger writes in the Liturgical Year:
July 11th
St. Pius I
Pope & Martyr
"A Holy Pope of the second century, the first of the 11 hitherto graced with the name of Pius, rejoices us today with his mild and gentle light. Although Christian society was in a precarious condition under persecution, our saint profited by the comparative peace enjoyed by the church under Antonius Pious to strengthen the foundations of the mysterious tower raised by the Divine Shepherd to the honor of the Lord God. He ordained by his supreme authority that, notwithstanding the contrary custom observed in certain places, the feast of Easter should be celebrated on a Sunday throughout the entire Church. The importance of this measure and its effects upon the whole church will be brought before us on the feast of St Victor, who succeeded Pius at the close of the century.
The ancient legend of St Pius I, which has lately been altered, made mention of the decree, attributed in the corpus juris to our pontiff, concerning those who should carelessly let fall any portion of the Precious Blood of our Lord. The prescriptions are such as evince towards the Mystery of the Altar. The penance enjoined is to be of 40 days if the precious blood have fallen to the ground; and wheresoever it fell, it must, if possible, be taken up with the lips, the dust must be burned, and the ashes thereof thrown into a consecrated place."
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To Pope Pius I is attributed a law which punishes anyone who should carelessly let fall any portion of the Precious Blood.
St. Justin Martyr, who taught Christian doctrine in Rome during the pontificate of Pius I:
"We receive not as common bread, nor as common drink, the food which we call the Eucharist; but just as Jesus Christ our Savior, being made flesh by the word of God, had both flesh and blood for our salvation, so have we been taught that the food made Eucharist by the prayer formed of His own word, is both the Flesh and the Blood of this Jesus who is made flesh." (Justin Martyr, Apolog. I. 66)
Tertullian (155 AD – c. 220): "We are in the greatest distress if the least drop from our chalice, or the least crumb of our Bread fall to the ground." (De Corona, iii) Origen (c. 185 – c. 253):
"...the care and veneration with which the sacred gifts were surrounded, for fear the smallest particle should fall; which, if it happened through negligence, would be considered a crime." (Ex Homil, xiii)
Commenting on these quotes about the Eucharist from the Early Church, Dom Prosper says: "And yet in our day's heresy, as destitute of knowledge as of faith, pretends that the church has departed from her ancient traditions by paying exaggerated homage to the Divine Sacrament!
Obtain for us, O Pius, the grace to return to the spirit of our Father's; not, indeed, with regard to their faith, for that we have kept inviolate. But as to the veneration and love with which that faith inspired them for the Chalice of Inebriation, that richest treasure of Earth."
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