Early in the fourth century, Saint Damasus was born in Rome. There, his father—a widower—had taken Holy Orders and served as the parish priest at St. Laurence Church.

In 355, Damasus held the position of archdeacon in the Roman Church following the exile of Saint Liberius, the pope, to Berda. Damasus went into exile with him but later came back to Rome. Damasus was selected to succeed Saint Liberius upon his death in 366, at the age of sixty-two.

Envious of his election and yearning for that esteemed position for himself, a certain Ursinus had himself declared pope by his supporters, sparking a rebellion against Damasus in Rome that resulted in the deaths of 137 people. Although the Holy Pope decided against using force to defend himself, Emperor Valentinian temporarily expelled the usurper from Rome in order to stand up for him. Upon his return, he discovered several who shared his malevolent plans and accused the holy pontiff of adultery. The only action Saint Damasus made was to assume the role of the common father of the faithful. At a synod of forty-four bishops that he called, he presented such a convincing case for himself that the critics were expelled and excommunicated.

After removing this new split from the Church, Saint Damasus focused on the spread of Arianism in the West and Apollinarianism in the East, calling multiple councils to achieve this goal. He sent Saint Zenobius, who would go on to become the bishop of Florence, to Constantinople in 381 to offer consolation to the faithful who were being brutally persecuted by Emperor Valens.

He gave the order for Saint Jerome to translate the Bible into proper Latin, which is now known as the Vulgate, and that the Psalms be sung in accordance with it. He renovated and embellished the Church of Saint Laurence, which is now known as Saint Laurence in Damaso.

He drained the Vatican's springs, which were inundating the tombs of the holy people buried there, and he decorated the sepulchers of a large number of martyrs in the cemeteries, embellishing them with poetry epitaphs.

Theodoret extols Saint Damasus as the foremost of the well-known doctors of divine grace of the Latin church. According to the General Council of Chalcedon, he is the "honor and glory of Rome." He ruled for eighteen years and two months before passing away on December 10, 384, at the age of about eighty.Except for his head, which is kept in the Basilica of Saint Peter, his remains were interred in the church of Saint Laurence in Damaso in the eighth century. The Council of Rome, which established the canon, or canonical list, of Sacred Scripture, was presided over by him in 382.

St. Damasus, who supported St. Jerome throughout his pontificate, opposed key heresies within the church and promoted the creation of the Vulgate Bible. In addition to promoting martyr veneration, he assisted in mending the rift between the Church of Rome and the Church of Antioch.

Other Saints of the Day
Saint Acepsius
Saint Cian
Saint Fidweten
Saint Pens
Saint Trason