<p>Pope John I was born in 470, and was Pope from August 13, 523 to May 18, 526.&nbsp; He was from Siena.&nbsp; He is the first known Pope to have visited Constantinople while in office.&nbsp; While he was a deacon in Rome, he was known to have been a partisan of the anti-pope Laurentius.&nbsp; The &ldquo;libellus&rdquo; written to Pope Symmachus in 506, John confessed his error in opposing him, and begged pardon of Pope Symmachus.&nbsp; He was the Deacon John that signed the &ldquo;Acta&rdquo; of the Roman Synod of 499 and 502. &nbsp; At this time, the Catholic Church had only seven Deacons, making it very easy to identify him.&nbsp; He also was the Deacon John that dictated several of the early religious tractates written between 512 and 520. &nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <p>John was very frail when he was elected to the Papacy.&nbsp; Despite protests, he was sent by the Arian King, Theodoric the Great, to Constantinople to secure a moderation of Emperor Justin&rsquo;s decree of 523, against the Arians.&nbsp; The King threatened Pope John I that if he should fail in his mission, there would be reprisals against the Catholics in the West.&nbsp; John proceeded to Constantinople with a considerable entourage; his religious companions included Bishops Ecclesius of Ravenna, Eusebius of Fanum Fortunae, and Sabinus of Campania.&nbsp; His secular companions were the Senators Flavius, Theodorus, Inportunus and Agapitus.&nbsp;</p> <p>It is recorded that Emperor Justin promised to do everything the embassy asked of him, with the exception of restoring converts from Arianism to Catholicism to their original beliefs.&nbsp; Although Pope John was successful in his mission, when he returned to Ravenna, King Theodoric&rsquo;s Capital, King Theodoric had John arrested on the suspicion of having conspired with Emperor Justin.&nbsp; He was imprisoned at Ravenna, where he died of neglect and ill treatment.&nbsp; His body was transported to Rome and buried in the Basilica of St. Peter. &nbsp;</p> <p>The Liber Pontificalis credits Pope St. John I, with making repairs to the cemetery of the martyrs many saints.&nbsp; He is depicted in art as looking through the bars of a prison or imprisoned with a deacon and sub-deacon.&nbsp; He is still venerated in a strong way at Ravenna and in Tuscany.&nbsp; His feast day is May 18^th, the anniversary of the day of his death. &nbsp;</p> <p><span style="font-size: medium;"><strong>Practical Take Away</strong></span></p> <p>Pope John I was born in 470, and was Pope from August 13, 523 to May 18, 526.&nbsp; He was from Siena.&nbsp; He is the first known Pope to have visited Constantinople while in office.&nbsp; King Theodoric threatened him, if he did not go to Emperor Justin, and get the provisions he asked for.&nbsp; Pope St. John I, made the trip and his mission was successful, but upon his return he was imprisoned by King Theodoric on suspicion of conspiring with Emperor Justin.&nbsp; He died in prison from neglect, on May 18^th. &nbsp; The Church places his feast day on the Liturgical calendar to be commemorated.&nbsp;</p>