Pope St. Hyginus

Pope St. Hyginus governed the Roman Church in the middle of the second century, reigning by tradition from about 138 to 142. His pontificate fell in an age when Rome was troubled by the spread of Gnostic teachers, and it is recorded that the heresiarchs Valentinus and Cerdo were active in the city during his time, propagating errors that Hyginus and the Church resisted in defense of the apostolic faith.

A Greek by origin, he is credited by tradition, though on uncertain grounds, with ordering the ranks of the clergy and with regulating the roles of godparents at baptism. As with most of the early popes, reliable detail is scarce, and later legends should be treated with caution. Venerated as a saint and by tradition a martyr, he is remembered as a guardian of sound doctrine in a perilous time, and is celebrated on 11 January.