History

There are more than 60 catacombs in Rome. This is the biggest complex and was declared as the official cemetery of the Church in the third century by Pope Zephyrinus I.

In the early first century, the first Christian community didn't have their own cemeteries here in Rome, most of the martyrs were buried in "Necropolis", including St. Peter and St. Paul, the two pillars of the Church.

In the Second century, few of the Roman wealthy families and the aristocrats converted to Christianity. They started to donate their lands and belongings to the Church. Few of these lands were utilized to bury the martyrs and their Christian brothers and sisters, in particular way the poor and the slaves.

Pope Callixtus I

In the third century, Pope Zephyrinus I (199-217) acquired a land along the oldest road of Roman Empire in "Via Appia Antica", and built the actual catacomb. This was declared as the "official cemetery of the Church".

He appointed deacon Callixtus to be the first administrator of this Catacomb. Callixtus came from a very poor family and was an ex slave (Liberti). According to some sources, he worked for a Roman rich person by administrating a bank, however this bank got bankrupt and was accused as the cause and eventually was imprisoned in Sicily with hard labor in a mine. Later he was freed. He was ordained deacon by the Pope and assigned as the first administrator of the catacomb for 20 years. After years of dedication in the catacomb, deacon Callixtus (217-222) was elected Pope succeeding Pope Zephyrinus. Eventually this Catacomb was named after him. He was buried in the catacomb of Calepodius on the Aurelian way. At present his remain believed to be found in the basilica of St. Mary at Trastevere.

St. Cecilia martyr

In the 4th century, Christianity reaches its golden era. Emperor Constantine with the edict of Milan (313 AD) gave the freedom of Cult to the Christians. Eventually, this catacomb became very important to the first Christian community, and became a pilgrim place and turned to be an underground shrine. There were 16 Popes of the third century buried underground and more than 70 martyrs buried underground too, including the young martyr St. Cecilia. The catacomb contained half a million deceased people buried from the 3rd-century till 5th-century.