Historical Context
Urban became bishop of Rome in 222, with one source giving his election as October 14 of that year. He governed during the reign of Alexander Severus, an emperor who did not promote the persecution of Christians, and the Church in Rome grew significantly amid this relative tolerance.
Urban maintained Callixtus I's opposition to the schismatic teacher Hippolytus, who led a rival congregation in Rome and authored the Philosophumena, a polemic against Callixtus. These internal disputes, begun under Hippolytus and Callixtus, continued through Urban's tenure.
A papal decree attributed to Urban concerned the use of the faithful's offerings, holding that gifts offered to the Lord were to serve ecclesiastical purposes, the common good of the Christian community, and the relief of the poor.
Martyrdom and Repose
The anchor tradition and the Orthodox synaxarion honor Urban as a hieromartyr, and for centuries the Church held that he died a martyr's death.
External historical sources, however, record genuine scholarly uncertainty: recent findings have led some scholars to conclude that Urban may have died of natural causes rather than as a martyr. He reposed around 230, by one account perhaps on October 19, though that date may belong to a different Urban of Rome. He was succeeded by Pontian.
Relics & Shrines
The location of Urban's tomb is uncertain. The Italian archaeologist Giovanni de Rossi discovered a sarcophagus lid in the Catacomb of Callixtus suggesting Urban's burial there, accompanied by a list of martyrs containing his name. Ambiguity remains, however, because Pope Sixtus III's record lists Urban among foreign bishops rather than among the popes.
In 1773, Pope Clement XIV gave a relic of Urban's body to the Andrássy family; it is now kept in the Roman Catholic church at Monok in Hungary.
Miracles & Traditions
Historically Documented: The dossier records no independently documented miracles.
Traditional Accounts: Legendary accounts relate that Urban converted the brothers Tiburtius and Valerianus, the latter being the husband of Saint Cecilia, and that he toppled an idol through prayer, an act said to have led to his torture and beheading. A sixth-century account, regarded as a fabrication, claimed that he commissioned silver liturgical vessels for twenty-five churches.
Legacy in Art and Letters
In Western art Urban is typically depicted wearing the papal tiara and robes and holding a downward-pointing sword; a twelfth-century fresco at Chalivoy-Milon in France includes his image.
The medieval poet Geoffrey Chaucer featured him in 'The Second Nun's Tale' of The Canterbury Tales.
