An inspiring story
The slave who became bishop of Rome
Do people deserve a second chance?
Callixtus started life as a slave. His master let him run a bank, the money was lost, and Callixtus fled, was caught and later sent to the mines of Sardinia. Once free, he was put in charge of this Christian burial ground on the Appian Way, which still bears his name. In 217 the former slave and convict became bishop of Rome. As bishop he was criticised for one thing above all: he welcomed back sinners who repented, even after serious failures. Why so generous? Perhaps because he knew exactly what a second chance meant.
Even his fiercest critic, the writer Hippolytus, tells his story. The church of the catacombs was a place for people with a past.
Where sin increased, grace increased all the more.Romans 5:20