Pope St. Pius I

Pius is believed to have been born at Aquileia, in Northern Italy, during the late 1st century. His father was an Italian called "Rufinus", who was also a native of Aquileia according to the Liber Pontificalis. According to the 2nd century Muratorian Canon and the Liberian Catalogue, he was the brother of Hermas, author of the text known as The Shepherd of Hermas. The writer of the later text identifies himself as a former slave. This has led to speculation that both Hermas and Pius were freedmen. However Hermas' statement that he was a slave may just mean that he belonged to a low-ranking plebeian family.

According to Catholic tradition, St Pius I governed the Church in the middle of the 2nd century during the reigns of the Emperors Antoninus Pius and Marcus Aurelius. He is held to be the ninth successor of Saint Peter, who decreed that Easter should only be kept on a Sunday. Although credited with ordering the publication of the Liber Pontificalis, compilation of that document was not started before the beginning of the 6th century. He is also said to have built one of the oldest churches in Rome, Santa Pudenziana.

There is some conjecture that he was a martyr in Rome, a conjecture that entered earlier editions of the Roman Breviary. The study that had produced the 1969 revision of the General Roman Calendar stated that there were no grounds for his consideration as a martyr, and he is not presented as such in the Roman Martyrology.  His liturgical feast is kept on July 11.