Pius, the first of that name, the son of Rufinus, was from Aquilia, and was a priest of the holy Roman Church when he was made Supreme Pontiff. He lived under the Emperors Antoninus Pius and Marcus Aurelius. He held five ordinations in the month of December, wherein he ordained twelve bishops and eighteen priests. There remain several eminent ordinances of his, notably that which ruleth that the Resurrection of the Lord be not observed upon any day of the week save Sunday. He turned the house of Pudens into a church, and on account of its eminence above the other churches, as being that where the Bishop of Rome dwelt, he dedicated it under the name of the Shepherd. Here he often celebrated, and baptized and numbered among the faithful many converts to the faith. While he strove to do the work of a good shepherd he shed his blood for his sheep, and for the chief Shepherd Christ. He was crowned with martyrdom upon the 11th day of July, and buried upon the Vatican Hill.
