TODAY'S SAINT (Clement I)

CLEMENT I

(d. 99)

Pope and martyr

Also known as: Clemens Romanus

The identity of Clement is uncertain, though prrobably he was a freedman or the soon of a freedman of Emperor Nero's household. It is also possible that he was of Jewish descent. He is said to have been bapitzed--and ordained a priest--by St. Peter and is accepted by most authorities as the Fourth pope, following SS. Peter, Linus and Anaclitus.

Clement is best known from an apostolic letter he wrote to the Church of Corinth when it faced an internal crisis. The letter is important not only as a homily on Christian life, but also for the example it gives of the bishop of Rome intervening authoritatively in the affairs of another apostolic church. On the basis of this letter, Clement is considered the first of the Apostolic Fathers.

It appears that Clement may have been forced into exile from Rome, thus ending his reign. Tradition has it that he converted Theodora, wife of Sisinnius, a courtier of Nerva, and then--after miracles--Sisinnius himself, together with 423 other persons of rank. Emperor Trajan then banished him to the Crimea, where he was made to work in the quarries. The nearrest dinking water was six miles away, but--assisted by a miracle--Celement discovered a spring close by. Soon he had brought in so many new converts that 75 churches were needed to serve them. His success so enraged Trajan that he orded him thrown into the Black Sea with an iron anchor around his neck. Angels came and built him a tomb under the water, but every year, the tide receded far enough to reveal it.

This acount is no older than the Fourth century, and there is no way of knowing how much of the truth it represents. About 868, St. Cyril, in the Crimea, dug up some bones and an anchor from a burial mound said to be Clement's, and carried them to Rome. The relics were deposited by Pope Adrian (r. 867-872) with those of St. Ignatius of Antioch in the high altar of the basilica of St. Clemens Church. However, they may or may not be Clement's in fact.

In art, Clement is represented as a pope with an anchor and fish. Sometimes he is shown lying in a temple in the sea. He may also be shown with a millstone; keys; a fountain that has sprung forth at his prayers; or a book.

Feast: November 23

Patronage: Guild, Fraternity, and Brotherhood of the

Most Glorious and Undivided Trinity of London

(responsible for lighthouses and lightships); mar-

ble workers