The feast day of St. Damasus is celebrated on December 11. He was the Bishop of Rome.
Damasus was born in 306. His father was a Roman priest. Following his father’s footsteps, he began as a deacon. He served in the Basilica of San Lorenzo. He also served Pope Liberius following him into exile. When Pope Liberius died he was elected Pope. At the same time a minority elected Ursinus as the Pope. Ursinus was considered the anti-pope. Unrest and discord were constant during the reign of Pope Damasus.
Pope Damasus commissioned his secretary St.Jerome to translate the scripture into Latin, the Vulgate version of the Bible. He also changed the liturgical language of the Church from Greek to Latin. He worked to preserve the catacombs and the graves of the martyrs, and relics. During his reign, Christianity was declared the official religion of the Roman state.
Pope Damasus I died of natural causes in Rome on Dec. 11, 384.
“For me, prayer means launching out
of the heart toward God;
a cry of grateful love from the
crest of joy or the trough of despair;
It is a vast supernatural force
that opens out my heart,
and binds me close to Jesus.”
Quote of St. Thérèse of Lisieux; Feast day October 1
December is the Month of the Divine Infancy