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Born a
slave, owned by Carpophorus, a Christian of the household of Caesar.
His master entrusted a large sum to Callistus to open a
bank, which took in several deposits, made several loans to people who
refused to pay them back, and went broke. Knowing he would be personally
blamed and punished, Callistus fled, but was caught and returned to his
owner. Several depositors begged for his life, believing he had not lost
the money, but had stolen and hid it. They were wrong; he wasn't a
thief, just a victim, but he was sent to the
tin mines. By a quirk of Roman law, the ownership of Callistus was
transferred from Carpophorus to the state, and when he was later ransomed
out with a number of other Christians, he became a free man.
Pope Saint Zephyrinus put Callistus in charge of the Roman public
burial grounds, today still called the Cemetery of Saint Callistus.
Archdeacon. Sixteenth
Pope. Most of what we know about him has come down to us from his
critics, including an
anti-Pope of the day.