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Silverius, pope (536 - 537), was a legitimate son
of Pope Hormisdas, born before his father entered
the priesthood.

He was consecrated on June 8, 536 (probable date).


He opposed the restoration of the
Monophysitism|monophysite heretic, former
patriarch of Constantinople Anthimus I of
Constantinople|Anthimus, whom Pope Agapetus
I|Agapetus had deposed, and thus brought upon
himself the hatred of Empress Theodora (6th
century)|Theodora. Theodara then sought to have
Pope Vigilius|Vigilius made pope.  During
Silverius' papacy, it was alleged that he had
purchased his elevation to the see of St. Peter
from King Theodahad.

On December 9 536, the Byzantine general General
Belisarius|Belisarius entered Rome, with the
approval of Pope Silverius. Theodahad's successor,
Witiges, gathered together an army and besieged
Rome for several months, subjecting the city to
privation and starvation.  It was alleged that
Pope Silverius wrote to Witiges offering to betray
the city.

He was deposed accordingly by Belisarius in March
537 on a charge (not improbably well founded) of
treasonable correspondence with the Goths, and
degraded to the rank of a simple monk. He found
his way to Constantinople, and Justinian I, who
entertained his complaint, sent him back to Rome,
but Vigilius was eventually able to banish his
rival to the prison island Pandataria, where the
rest of his life was spent in obscurity. The date
of his death is unknown.

According to the Liber Pontificalis, Pope St.
Silverius was exiled not to Ventotene, but rather
to the Palmarola, where he died a couple of months
later, on June 20 537.

Pope Silverius was later Beatified and made into a
Saint and is now the patron saint of the island of
Ponza, Italy (Isola Di Ponza, Italia).

He is also called Saint Silverius (San Silverio).
According to Ponza Islands legend, fishermen were
in a small boat in a storm off Palmarola and they
called on Saint Silverius for help. An apparition
of Saint Siverius called them to Palmarola where
they survived. This miracle made him a Saint.

Pope|
Predecessor=Pope Agapetus I|Saint Agapetus I|
Successor=Pope
Vigilius|Vigilius|Dates=536–537

Incorporating text from the 9th edition (1887) of
an unnamed encyclopedia.