Editing Pope Boniface IV

{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2020}}
{{short description|Head of the Catholic Church from 608 to 615}}
{{redirect|Boniface IV|the 16th-century nobleman|Boniface IV, Marquis of Montferrat}}
{{Infobox Christian leader
| type = Pope
| honorific-prefix = [[List of popes|Pope]] [[List of canonised popes|Saint]]
| name = Boniface IV
| title = [[Bishop of Rome]]
| church = [[Catholic Church]]
| image = 
| term_start = 25 September 608
| term_end = 8 May 615
| predecessor = [[Pope Boniface III|Boniface III]]
| successor = [[Adeodatus I]]
| birth_date = 550
| birth_place = Valeria, [[Byzantine Empire]]
| death_date = 8 May 615 (aged 64–65)
| death_place = [[Rome]], [[Byzantine Empire]]
| venerated = [[Catholic Church]]
| feast_day = 8 May
| attributes = Papal vestments
| canonized_by = [[Boniface VIII]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www2.fiu.edu/~mirandas/bios591.htm#Bonifacio|title=Bonifacio (?-615)|publisher=Cardinals of the Holy Roman Church|access-date=28 April 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150905113215/http://www2.fiu.edu/~mirandas/bios591.htm#Bonifacio|archive-date=5 September 2015|url-status=dead}}</ref>
| other = Boniface
| shrine = St. Peter's Basilica
| saint_title = Pope
| honorific_suffix = OSB
}}

'''Pope Boniface IV''', OSB<ref>{{Cite web |last=Zeno |title=Lexikoneintrag zu »Bonifacius, S. (6)«. Vollständiges Heiligen-Lexikon, Band 1. ... |url=http://www.zeno.org/Heiligenlexikon-1858/A/Bonifacius,+S.+(6) |access-date=2023-06-12 |website=www.zeno.org |language=de}}</ref> ({{langx|la|Bonifatius IV}}; 550 – 8 May 615{{efn|1=Most sources give 8 May as the date of his death;<ref name=oxford/><ref>{{cite encyclopedia |url=http://www.treccani.it/enciclopedia/santo-bonifacio-iv_%28Enciclopedia-dei-Papi%29/ |title=BONIFACIO IV, santo |first=Paolo |last=Bertolini |encyclopedia=Enciclopedia dei Papi |language=it |year=2000}}</ref> but {{harvnb|Jaffé|1881}} gives 25 May.<ref name="Oestreich 1907"/>}}) was the [[bishop of Rome]] from 608 to his death. Boniface had served as a deacon under [[Pope Gregory I]], and like his mentor, he ran the [[Lateran Palace]] as a monastery. As [[pope]], he encouraged [[monasticism]]. With imperial permission, he converted the [[Pantheon, Rome|Pantheon]] into a church. In 610, he conferred with Bishop [[Mellitus]] of London regarding the needs of the English Church. He is [[venerated]] as a saint in the [[Catholic Church]] with a universal [[feast day]] on 8 May.

==Family and early career==
Boniface was born in what is now the [[Province of L'Aquila]]. His father was a physician named John. His family was of [[Marsi]] origins according to the Liber Pontificalis.<ref> Andrew J. Ekonomou. Byzantine Rome and the Greek Popes. Lexington books, 2007</ref> During the pontificate of [[Gregory the Great]], Boniface was a deacon of the Roman Church and held the position of ''dispensator'', that is, the first official in connection with the administration of the [[Patrimony of Saint Peter|patrimonies]].<ref name="Oestreich 1907">{{Catholic |last=Oestereich |first=Thomas |wstitle=Pope St. Boniface IV |volume=2 |inline=1 |prescript= }}</ref>

==Pontificate==
[[File:San_Benedetto_dei_Marsi_Papa_Bonifacio_IV.jpg|thumb|Bust of Boniface IV in [[San Benedetto dei Marsi]], describing him as "of the nation of the [[Marsi]] and of the community of Valeria."]]
Boniface IV was [[papal selection before 1059|elected]] to succeed [[Boniface III]] but a vacancy of over nine months ensued, awaiting [[Byzantine papacy|imperial confirmation]] from [[Constantinople]]. He was consecrated on either 25 August, according to [[Louis Duchesne|Duchesne]], or 15 September, according to [[Philipp Jaffé|Jaffé]], in 608.<ref name="Oestreich 1907"/> The Vatican lists the official beginning of his papacy as 25 September. 

Boniface obtained leave from Emperor [[Phocas]] to convert the [[Pantheon, Rome|Pantheon]] in [[Rome]] into a Christian church, and on 13 May 609,<ref>MacDonald, William L. (1976). ''The Pantheon: Design, Meaning, and Progeny''. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. {{ISBN|0-674-01019-1}}</ref> the temple erected by [[Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa|Agrippa]] to [[Jupiter (god)|Jupiter]] the Avenger, [[Venus (mythology)|Venus]], and [[Mars (god)|Mars]] was consecrated by the pope in honor of the [[Virgin Mary]] and all the Martyrs. It was the first instance in Rome of the transformation of a pagan temple into a place of Christian worship. Twenty-eight cartloads of sacred bones were said to have been removed from the [[Catacombs]] and placed in a porphyry basin beneath the high altar.<ref name="Oestreich 1907"/>

In 610, [[Mellitus]], the first [[bishop 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 of [[monk]]s", and, on his departure, took to England the decree of the council together with letters from the pope to Archbishop [[Laurence of Canterbury]] and to all the clergy, to King [[Æthelberht of Kent]], and to all the [[Anglo-Saxons]].<ref name=oxford>{{cite web| url = http://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/oi/authority.20110803095517217| title = "St Boniface IV", Oxford Reference}}</ref> The decrees of the council now extant are spurious. The letter to Æthelberht<ref> {{harvnb|Oestreich|1907}} cites:{{harvnb|William of Malmesbury|''De Gest. Pont.''|loc=I, 1465}}</ref> is considered spurious by [[Karl Josef von Hefele|Hefele]],<ref>{{harvnb|Oestreich|1907}} cites: {{harvnb|Hefele|1869|loc=III, p. 66}}.</ref> questionable by [[Arthur West Haddan|Haddan]] and [[William Stubbs|Stubbs]],<ref>{{harvnb|Oestreich|1907}} cites: Mansi, ''Councils'', III, 65.</ref> and genuine by Jaffé.<ref>{{harvnb|Oestreich|1907}} cites: {{harvnb|Jaffé|1881|loc=1988 (1548)}}.</ref>

Between 612 and 615, the Irish missionary [[Columbanus]], then living at [[Bobbio]] in Italy, was persuaded by King [[Agilulf]] of Lombardy to address a letter on the condemnation of the "[[Schism of the Three Chapters|Three Chapters]]" to Boniface IV. He told the pope that he was suspected of heresy for accepting the [[Fifth Ecumenical Council]] and exhorted him to summon a council and prove his orthodoxy.<ref name="Oestreich 1907"/> There is no record of a rejoinder from Boniface.

==Death==
Inspired by Gregory the Great, Boniface IV converted his house into a [[monastery]], where he retired and died on 8 May. He was succeeded by [[Adeodatus I]], who reversed his policy favouring monasticism. Boniface IV was buried in the portico of [[St. Peter's Basilica]]. His remains were three times removed — in the tenth or eleventh century, at the close of the thirteenth under [[Boniface VIII]], and to the new St. Peter's on 21 October 1603.<ref name="Oestreich 1907"/> Boniface IV is commemorated as a saint in the [[Roman Martyrology]] on his feast day, 8 May.<ref name=oxford/>

== Feast Days ==

* 8 May - main commemoration, death anniversary,<ref>{{Cite web |last=Zeno |title=Lexikoneintrag zu »Bonifacius, S. (6)«. Vollständiges Heiligen-Lexikon, Band 1. ... |url=http://www.zeno.org/Heiligenlexikon-1858/A/Bonifacius,+S.+(6) |access-date=2023-06-12 |website=www.zeno.org |language=de}}</ref>
* 25 May - old commemoration date,<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=Papa San Bonifacio IV - Enciclopedia Católica |url=https://ec.aciprensa.com/wiki/Papa_San_Bonifacio_IV |access-date=2023-06-12 |website=ec.aciprensa.com}}</ref>
* 28 May - commemoration by [[Benedictines]] and [[Cistercians]],
* 3rd weekend of August - feast of patrons of [[Luco dei Marsi]] ([[Abruzzo]])<ref>{{Cite web |title=Antonello Venditti a Luco dei Marsi per le Feste Patronali 2016 |url=https://www.mondoeventiabruzzo.it/events/antonello-venditti-a-luco-dei-marsi-per-le-feste-patronali-2016/ |access-date=2023-06-12 |website=Il Mondo degli Eventi - Abruzzo |language=it-IT}}</ref>
* 21 October - translation of relics in 1603,<ref name=":0" />

==Notes==
{{notelist}}

==References==
{{Portal|Biography|Christianity|History}}

===Citations===
{{reflist|50em}}

===Sources===
*{{cite book |author=Bede |title=Historia ecclesiastica gentis Anglorum |ref={{SfnRef|Bede|H.E.}} |title-link=Historia ecclesiastica gentis Anglorum }}
*{{cite book |first=Stefano |last=Mula |title=Muhammad and the Saints: The History of the Prophet in the Golden Legend |date=2003 |publisher=The University of Chicago Press |page=178 |url=http://unica2.unica.it/filolog/lezioni/Mula-Muhammad%20and%20the%20saints.pdf |access-date=17 December 2014 |archive-date=3 March 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303222714/http://unica2.unica.it/filolog/lezioni/Mula-Muhammad%20and%20the%20saints.pdf |url-status=dead }}
*{{cite book |last=Hefele |first=Karl Joseph von |year=1869 |title=Conciliengeschichte |volume=III |publisher=Freiburg im Breisgau [etc.] Herder |page=[https://archive.org/stream/conciliengeschic03hefe#page/66/mode/1up 66] |url=https://archive.org/details/conciliengeschic03hefe }}
* {{cite book|author=William of Malmesbury |author-link=William of Malmesbury  |title=Gesta Pontificum Anglorum (The History of the English Bishops) |volume=I |page=1465 |publisher=[[Migne]] |ref={{SfnRef|William of Malmesbury|De Gest. Pont.}} |title-link=Gesta Pontificum Anglorum  }}

'''Attribution:'''
*{{CE1913 |last=Oestreich |first=Thomas |wstitle=Pope St. Boniface IV |volume=2}} Endnotes:
**{{cite book  |editor-last=Duchesne |editor-first=Louis |editor-link=Louis Duchesne |title=Liber Pontificalis |volume=1 |page=317 |language=fr|title-link=Liber Pontificalis }}
**{{cite book |last=Gasquet |first=Francis Aidan |author-link=Francis Aidan Gasquet |year=1903 |title=A Short History of the Catholic Church in England |page=[https://archive.org/details/a582862800gasquoft/page/n22 19] |url=https://archive.org/details/a582862800gasquoft}}
** [[Ferdinand Gregorovius|Gregorovius, Ferdinand]], II, 104
**{{cite book |last=Hunt |first=William |title=The English Church from Its Foundation to the Norman Conquest (597-1066) |volume=1 |location=London & New York |publisher=Macmillan and Co |year=1901 |page=[https://archive.org/details/englishchurchfro00huntrich/page/42 42] |url=https://archive.org/details/englishchurchfro00huntrich}}
**{{cite book |last=Jaffé |first=Philipp |title=Regesta Pontificum Romanorum ab condita ecclesia ad annum 1198 |orig-year=1851 |edition=2d |location=Leipsic |year=1881 |volume=I |page=220 }}
**{{cite book |last=Langen |first=Joseph |author-link=Joseph Langen |title=Geschichte der Römischen Kirche |year=1881 |volume=2 |page=[https://archive.org/details/05349352.1571.emory.edu/page/n515 501] |url=https://archive.org/details/05349352.1571.emory.edu}}
**{{cite book |last=Mann |first=Horace K. |year=1906 |title=The lives of the popes in the early middle ages: The popes under the Lombard rule : St. Gregory I (the Great) to Leo III, 590-795 |volume=I:1 |pages=[https://archive.org/stream/livesofpopesinea11mann#page/268/mode/2up 268]-279 |url=https://archive.org/details/livesofpopesinea11mann}}
**{{cite book |last=Mansi |first=Gian Domenico |author-link=Giovanni Domenico Mansi |title=Sacrorum Conciliorum nova et amplissima collectio |volume=X |page=501 |url=http://www.documentacatholicaomnia.eu/04z/z_1692-1769__Mansi_JD__Sacrorum_Conciliorum_Nova_Amplissima_Collectio_Vol_001__LT.pdf.html}}
**{{cite book |author=Paul the Deacon |title=History of the Lombards |translator-first=William Dudley |translator-last=Foulke |year=1907 |publisher=University of Pennsylvania |chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/historyoflangoba00pauluoft |chapter=Book III: Chapter IV |pages=[https://archive.org/stream/historyoflangoba00pauluoft#page/96/mode/2up 36–37]}}
**{{cite book |last=Reumont |first=Alfred von |title=Geschichte der Stadt Rom |year=1867 |volume=II |pages=[https://archive.org/details/geschichtedersta02reum/page/156 156], 165 |location=Berlin |url=https://archive.org/details/geschichtedersta02reum}}

==External links==
{{CE1913 poster|Pope St. Boniface IV}}
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20050324015451/http://cfpeople.org/Books/Pope/POPEp67.htm Biography] from CFPeople.org
*[http://saints.sqpn.com/pope-saint-boniface-iv/ Saints.SQPN: Boniface IV]
*[http://www.santiebeati.it/dettaglio/89067 Santiebeati: Boniface IV]

{{s-start}}
{{s-rel|ca}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Boniface III]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Pope]]|years=608–615}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Adeodatus I]]}}
{{s-end}}

{{Popes}}
{{Catholic saints}} 

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Boniface 04}}
[[Category:550 births]]
[[Category:615 deaths]]
[[Category:People from the Province of L'Aquila]]
[[Category:Papal saints]]
[[Category:Popes]]
[[Category:Italian popes]]
[[Category:Italian Roman Catholic saints]]
[[Category:Popes of the Byzantine Papacy]]
[[Category:7th-century archbishops]]
[[Category:Burials at St. Peter's Basilica]]
[[Category:Benedictine saints]]
[[Category:6th-century Italian people]]
[[Category:6th-century Italian bishops]]
[[Category:7th-century Italian people]]
[[Category:7th-century Italian bishops]]
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