December 31, 2023 / 12:29 AM
Every December 31 the Church remembers Saint Sylvester (270-335), thirty-third Pope of the Catholic Church. His pontificate lasted around 21 years, from the year 314 until his death in 335.
Sylvester was born in Rome and ruled the Church after the institution of the Edict of Milan (313), by which the Roman Empire officially stopped religious persecution against Christians. This was, without a doubt, a stage in which new challenges arose for the faithful, as the Church left behind the years of secrecy and began to play an increasingly important role in public life.
Saint Sylvester, in this context, had to face problems of a completely different nature, such as the appearance and spread of certain heresies, the cooling of the religious commitment of many, and the interference in ecclesial affairs by Constantine or the imperial power.