Pope Saint Victor, d. 199

July 28

Saint Victor was the first Pope from Africa. When he was Pope, people couldn’t agree when to celebrate Easter. We need to know the day of Easter so that we can plan for the seasons of the Church year. Pope Victor and the bishops decided that it must be celebrated on Sunday. He also knew it was important for people to be able to understand the Mass. So he declared that the Mass should be said in the language of the people. At that time, the language was Latin. Today, the Mass is said in many languages.

Saint Victor was the fourteenth Pope, and the first Pope to write his theology in Latin. Before he became Pope, Victor was a Roman soldier who worshipped the true God instead of the false idols, like the Roman gods. He is often shown as a soldier on a war horse.

Discuss: What languages have you heard at Mass?

Activity
Acrostic
Verbal/Linguistic

Explain that Pope Saint Victor wanted the Mass to be understood by the assembly. Today Mass is offered in many different languages.

• Discuss the various languages offered within your parish.
• Help your child research various languages. Find and list one for each letter of Saint Victor’s name. If you are having trouble coming up with languages that begin with each letter, add languages that contain the letter somewhere else within the name. [Some possible answers have been provided.]

S[panish]
A[rabic]
I[talian]
N[orwegian]
T[agalog]

V[ietnamese]
I[ndonesian]
C[hinese]
T[aiwanese]
O[jibwe]
R[ussian]