Pope Boniface V (; died 25 October 625) was the

bishop of Rome The pope is the bishop of Rome and the visible head of the worldwide Catholic Church. He is also known as the supreme pontiff, Roman pontiff, or sovereign pontiff. From the 8th century until 1870, the pope was the sovereign or head of sta ...

from 23 December 619 to his death on 25 October 625. He did much for the

Christianisation of Anglo-Saxon England The Christianisation of Anglo-Saxon England was the process starting in the late 6th century by which population of England formerly adhering to the Anglo-Saxon paganism, Anglo-Saxon, and later Old Nordic religion, Nordic, forms of Germanic pag ...

, and enacted the decree by which churches became places of sanctuary.

Election

Boniface came from

Naples Naples ( ; ; ) is the Regions of Italy, regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 908,082 within the city's administrative limits as of 2025, while its Metropolitan City of N ...

. His father's name was Ioannes or John. Nothing is known about his career before he became

pope The pope is the bishop of Rome and the Head of the Church#Catholic Church, visible head of the worldwide Catholic Church. He is also known as the supreme pontiff, Roman pontiff, or sovereign pontiff. From the 8th century until 1870, the po ...

. He was elected to succeed Adeodatus I after the latter's death in November 618, but thirteen months of ''

sede vacante In the Catholic Church, ''sede vacante'' is the state during which a diocese or archdiocese is without a prelate installed in office, with the prelate's office being the cathedral. The term is used frequently in reference to a papal interre ...

'' ensued before the election was ratified by the imperial government in

Constantinople Constantinople (#Names of Constantinople, see other names) was a historical city located on the Bosporus that served as the capital of the Roman Empire, Roman, Byzantine Empire, Byzantine, Latin Empire, Latin, and Ottoman Empire, Ottoman empire ...

. During that time, Italy was disturbed by the rebellion of the

exarch of Ravenna The Exarchate of Ravenna (; ), also known as the Exarchate of Italy, was an administrative district of the Byzantine Empire comprising, between the 6th and 8th centuries, the territories under the jurisdiction of the exarch of Italy (''exarchus ...

, Eleutherius, who proclaimed himself emperor. Eleutherius advanced towards

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

, but before he reached the city, he was slain by his own troops.Oestereich, Thomas. "Pope Boniface V." The Catholic Encyclopedia
Vol. 2. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1907. 13 October 2017 Boniface had been loyal to Emperor

Heraclius Heraclius (; 11 February 641) was Byzantine emperor from 610 to 641. His rise to power began in 608, when he and his father, Heraclius the Elder, the Exarch of Africa, led a revolt against the unpopular emperor Phocas. Heraclius's reign was ...

, and his election was ratified on 23 December 619.

Pontificate

Like Adeodatus I, Boniface V opposed

Gregory I Gregory I may refer to: * Gregory the Illuminator (250s–330s), Catholicos of the Armenian Apostolic Church in 288–325 * Gregory of Nazianzus (329–390), Patriarch Gregory I of Constantinople, in office 379–381 * Pope Gregory I (540–604), i ...

's pro-monastic policy. For that reason, he prescribed that

acolyte An acolyte is an assistant or follower assisting the celebrant in a religious service or procession. In many Christian denominations, an acolyte is anyone performing ceremonial duties such as lighting altar candles. In others, the term is used f ...

s should not presume to translate the relics of

martyrs A martyr (, ''mártys'', 'witness' Word stem, stem , ''martyr-'') is someone who suffers persecution and death for advocating, renouncing, or refusing to renounce or advocate, a religious belief or other cause as demanded by an external party. In ...

and that, in the

Basilica of Saint John Lateran The Archbasilica of Saint John Lateran (officially the ''Major Papal, Patriarchal and Roman Archbasilica, Metropolitan and Primatial Cathedral of the Most Holy Savior and Saints John the Baptist and the Evangelist in Lateran, Mother and Head of A ...

, they should not take the place of

deacon A deacon is a member of the diaconate, an office in Christian churches that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions. Major Christian denominations, such as the Cathol ...

s in administering

baptism Baptism (from ) is a Christians, Christian sacrament of initiation almost invariably with the use of water. It may be performed by aspersion, sprinkling or affusion, pouring water on the head, or by immersion baptism, immersing in water eit ...

. Boniface made certain enactments relative to the rights of

sanctuary A sanctuary, in its original meaning, is a sacred space, sacred place, such as a shrine, protected by ecclesiastical immunity. By the use of such places as a haven, by extension the term has come to be used for any place of safety. This seconda ...

, and that he ordered the ecclesiastical

notaries A notary is a person authorised to perform acts in legal affairs, in particular witnessing signatures on documents. The form that the notarial profession takes varies with local legal systems. A notary, while a legal professional, is distin ...

to obey the laws of the empire on the subject of wills. Boniface completed and consecrated the cemetery of

Saint Nicomedes Nicomedes was a martyr of unknown era, whose feast is observed 15 September. He was buried in a catacomb on the Via Nomentana near the gate of that name.

on the

Via Nomentana The Via Nomentana was an ancient Roman road in Italy, leading North-East from Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio ...

. In the ''Liber Pontificalis'', Boniface is described as "the mildest of men", whose chief distinction was his great love for the clergy.

Bede Bede (; ; 672/326 May 735), also known as Saint Bede, Bede of Jarrow, the Venerable Bede, and Bede the Venerable (), was an English monk, author and scholar. He was one of the most known writers during the Early Middle Ages, and his most f ...

writes of the pope's affectionate concern for the English Church. The "letters of exhortation" which he is said to have addressed to Archbishop

Mellitus Mellitus (; died 24 April 624) was the first bishop of London in the Saxon period, the third archbishop of Canterbury, and a member of the Gregorian mission sent to England to convert the Anglo-Saxons from their native paganism to Christia ...

of Canterbury and Bishop

Justus Justus (died on 10 November between 627 and 631) was the fourth archbishop of Canterbury. Pope Gregory the Great sent Justus from Italy to England on a mission to Christianise the Anglo-Saxons from their native paganism; he probably a ...

of Rochester are no longer extant, but certain other letters of his have been preserved. One is written to Justus after he had succeeded Mellitus as

archbishop of Canterbury The archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and a principal leader of the Church of England, the Primus inter pares, ceremonial head of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the bishop of the diocese of Canterbury. The first archbishop ...

in 624, conferring the

pallium The pallium (derived from the Roman ''pallium'' or ''palla'', a woolen cloak; : pallia) is an ecclesiastical vestment in the Catholic Church, originally peculiar to the pope, but for many centuries bestowed by the Holy See upon metropolitan bish ...

upon him and directing him to "ordain bishops as occasion should require." According to Bede, Pope Boniface also sent letters to King

Edwin of Northumbria Edwin (; c. 586 – 12 October 632/633), also known as Eadwine or Æduinus, was the King of Deira and Bernicia – which later became known as Northumbria – from around 616 until his death. He was the second monarch to rule bo ...

in 625 urging him to embrace the Christian faith, and to Edwin's Christian wife, Æthelburg of Kent, exhorting her to use her best endeavours for the conversion of her husband. Boniface V was buried in

St. Peter's Basilica The Papal Basilica of Saint Peter in the Vatican (), or simply St. Peter's Basilica (; ), is a church of the Italian High Renaissance located in Vatican City, an independent microstate enclaved within the city of Rome, Italy. It was initiall ...

on 25 October 625. He was succeeded by Honorius I.

Notes

References

. ''

Historia ecclesiastica gentis Anglorum The ''Ecclesiastical History of the English People'' (), written by Bede in about AD 731, is a history of the Christian Churches in England, and of England generally; its main focus is on the growth of Christianity. It was composed in Latin, and ...

'' * Gasquet, Francis Aidan. ''A Short History of the Catholic Church in England'', 19 *Gregorovius, Ferdinand. II, 113 *Hunt, William. ''The English Church from Its Foundation to the Norman Conquest''. Vol. 1. "A History of the English Church", W. R. W. Stephens and William Hunt, ed. London: Macmillan and Co., 1912. 49, 56, 58 *Jaffé, ''Regesta Pontificum Romanorum ab condita ecclesia ad annum 1198''. Berlin, 1851; 2d ed., Leipsic, 1881–88. I, 222 *Jungmann, ''Dissertationes Selectae in Historiam Ecclesiasticam'', II, 389. *Langen, 506 *''

Liber Pontificalis The ''Liber Pontificalis'' (Latin for 'pontifical book' or ''Book of the Popes'') is a book of biography, biographies of popes from Saint Peter until the 15th century. The original publication of the ''Liber Pontificalis'' stopped with Pope Adr ...

'' (ed. Duchesne), I, 321–322 * Mansi, Gian Domenico. X, 547–554 *Mann, Horace K. ''Lives of the Popes'' I, 294–303 {{DEFAULTSORT:Boniface 5 6th-century births 625 deaths Clergy from Naples Popes of the Byzantine Papacy Boniface 05 Boniface 05 Boniface 05 7th-century popes Burials at St. Peter's Basilica