Benedict II of Rome

Saint Benedict II of Rome was bishop of Rome from 684 to 685. His ministry lasted less than a year.

He was born in Rome and, sent young to the Church's school of singers, became known for his knowledge of Scripture and for his chant. He was elected in 683, but ordination came only on 26 June 684, after the consent of Emperor Constantine IV arrived. According to the Book of the Popes, he obtained from this emperor a decree by which the election could be confirmed by the exarch of Ravenna, which shortened vacancies of the see. As a sign of the bond between them he agreed to adopt the emperor's sons, Justinian and Heraclius, symbolically.

He worked for the acceptance of the decisions of the Sixth Ecumenical Council (680-681), which had condemned Monothelitism, and sought the signatures of the bishops of Spain. Tradition ascribes to him the restoration of several churches in Rome, among them old Saint Peter's.

He reposed in the Lord on 8 May 685 and was buried in Saint Peter's. Western Orthodox calendars commemorate him on 8 May. As a bishop of Rome before the separation of the Churches, he is a saint of the undivided Church.