St. Simplicius was the son of Castinus a citizen of Tivoli in Italy and was elected to succeed St. Hilary as pope in 468. He was raised up by God to comfort and support his Church through very difficult times caused by the fall of Rome in his eighth year as pope.

Sometimes he felt that he was all alone trying to correct evils that were everywhere. Barbarians had taken over most of Italy. Even Rome itself was occupied by invaders. The people were hungry and poor and had lost all happiness. They had been taxed and robbed by former Roman officials.

Pope Simplicius tried in every way to uplift his people and to work for their good. He was always there for them, no matter how small his efforts seemed to him. And because he was holy, he never gave up. More than by words, he taught with the example of his holy life.

Besides spending his time comforting the suffering, Pope Simplicius was busy sowing the seeds of the Catholic faith among the barbarians. Like the experienced pilot he was, he guided the Church through the troubled waters of a stormy sea.

St. Simplicius suffered because some of his own Christians stubbornly held on to wrong beliefs. With great sorrow, St. Simplicius had to put them out of the Church. When he corrected people who were doing wrong, he was kind and humble.

St. Simplicius built four churches in Rome and set up many useful rules for the Church to follow during his reign. Simplicius was pope for fifteen years and eleven months. Then the Lord called him to heaven to receive the reward of his labors. St. Simplicius died in 483 and was buried in St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome.

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