Along the lines of St. Matthew and T.S. Eliot, Today’s St.
Callistus the 1st was a repentant banker. Early on in his life, he squandered the
entrusted funds of widows in Rome.
Sent to the mines to do hard labor, Callistus later
encountered the mercy of Christ in his exile and was released on account of his
own confession of faith. As proof of his
repentance, he took charge of a cemetery in Rome, which was posthumously named
the Catacombs of St. Callistus.
JPII says of the place:
«I am conscious of the important historical and spiritual
significance of these monuments» John Paul II said in a recent address to the
Pontifical Commission for Sacred Archaeology. «By visiting these monuments, one
comes into contact with the evocative traces of early Christianity, and one
can, so to speak, tangibly sense the faith that motivated these ancient
Christian communities... How can we fail to be moved by the humble but eloquent
traces of these first witnesses to the faith?». Then considering the goals of
the Year 2000, the Pope concluded: «Today attention is focused on the historic
event of the Great Jubilee, when the Roman catacombs will again become a
favourite place of prayer and pilgrimage... Together with the great Roman
basilicas, the catacombs should be a necessary destination for the Holy Year
pilgrims».[1]
From squandering money at the bank for widows to his
conversion as an undertaker, St. Callistus could have been remembered merely
for the events of his early life. But he
actually was elected Pope in the 3rd Century AD! Then he was martyred in Rome, not far from
where he had been a banker years before.
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