On Dec. 31, while many people are preparing for their New Years Eve parties, some Roman Catholic Christians will also mark the feast day for St. Silvester.
Little is known for certain about Silvester’s life, but he lived during a transformational period in the history of Christianity. From 314-335 C.E., Silvester was the bishop of Rome: what we now call the pope, although the role was not so powerful at the time. “Pope” comes from the Greek word for “father,” and was widely used by bishops until the fifth century, when the bishop of Rome began to monopolize the title.
