Pope John I was the pope from 523 until May 18, 526. King Theodoric the Great sent him to Constantinople to intercede for the oppressed Eastern Goths. The pope received a splendid welcome from the Byzantine court, but his mission had very little success. Theodoric greeted him with distrust and kept him in Ravenna, where the pope died a few days later.
History does not tell us that John was imprisoned by the king or that he died a martyr. Despite this, our calendar continues to venerate him as such. In fact, the Church of Rome did not begin to venerate him as a saint until the 12th century. The date that used to be on the Roman calendar was May 27, the anniversary of his transfer to the tomb assigned to him in St. Peter’s Basilica.
