Skip to content
Fabian

File:Saint_Fabian1.jpg · Wikimedia Commons · See Wikimedia Commons

EntityQ131159· pop 79· linked from 1,765 articles

Also known as Pope Fabian, Fabianus, St. Fabian, Fabius Fabianus, Flavianus, Fabius Flavianus

pope and bishop of Rome from 236 to 250

OverviewAI-generated

Fabian was a male human who served as a Catholic priest and Pope during the Low Roman Empire. A member of the Fabia gens and the social classification of nobiles, he was born and worked in Rome. His religious affiliation included Christianity and the Catholic Church.

He died on January 20, 0250, in Rome by decapitation. Fabian is recognized as a hieromartyr, Catholic saint, and saint, with a feast day on January 20. He is buried at San Sebastiano fuori le mura and St. Peter's Basilica. His life is described in sources such as the Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary, The Nuttall Encyclopædia, Pauly–Wissowa, and the Encyclopædia Britannica 11th edition. He is also recognized in the Popes collection.

Synthesized by Vinony from 20 facts across 2 sources: Wikidata, Vinony collections. Generated from structured data (not the Wikipedia text) and checked against those facts — may still contain errors.

Wikidata facts

Instance of
human
Gender
male
Place of birth
Rome
Place of death
Rome
Occupation
Catholic priest
Position held
Pope
Religion
Christianity
Image
Saint Fabian1.jpg
Work location
Rome
Show 10 more facts
Commons category
Fabianus
date of birth
0200-00-00
date of death
0250-01-20
canonization status
Catholic saint
feast day
January 20
cause of death
decapitation
described by source
Wikitólica
social classification
nobiles
subject has role
martyr
Sources (4)

via Wikidata · CC0

~6 min read

Encyclopedic overview

Pope Fabian (Latin: Fabianus) was the bishop of Rome and head of the Catholic Church from 10 January 236 until his death on 20 January 250, succeeding Anterus. A dove is said to have descended on his head to mark him as the Holy Spirit's unexpected choice to become the next pope. He was succeeded by Cornelius.

Most of his papacy was characterized by amicable relations with the imperial government, and the schism between the Roman congregations of Pontian and Hippolytus was ended. He divided Rome into diaconates and appointed secretaries to collect the records of the martyrs. He sent out seven "apostles to the Gauls" as missionaries, but probably did not baptize Emperor Philip the Arab as is alleged. He died a martyr at the beginning of the Decian persecution and is venerated as a saint by the Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church.

Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Fabian” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.

Gallery (2)