St. Irenaeus

Their story

Irenaeus was born around 130 in Smyrna, in Asia Minor, and as a boy he listened to the preaching of St. Polycarp, who had been taught by St. John the Apostle. He later wrote that he remembered Polycarp's words better than things that had happened only recently. Irenaeus went to Gaul, in today's France, and became a priest in the city of Lyon. In 177 a fierce persecution broke out in Lyon. Irenaeus happened to be in Rome at the time, carrying a letter from his church to the pope, and so he escaped. When he returned, the elderly bishop of Lyon had died a martyr, and Irenaeus was chosen to take his place. In those days a group of teachers called Gnostics claimed to have secret knowledge that only a few could understand. Irenaeus wrote a great work, Against Heresies, showing that the true faith is the one handed down openly from the apostles through the bishops, and that God the Creator and the God who saves us in Christ are one and the same. He also wrote one of the most beautiful lines in Christian writing: "The glory of God is man fully alive." True to his name, which means "peace," Irenaeus worked to keep unity in the Church, gently urging the pope not to cut off churches that celebrated Easter on a different date. He died around 202, traditionally as a martyr. In 2022 Pope Francis declared him a Doctor of the Church, calling him the Doctor of Unity.