St Cornelius
Died 253 ~ Born in Rome, Cornelius was a priest and elected pope to succeed Fabian who had just been martyred. His election was delayed over a year because of Christian persecution. Many of the people who had given up their religion, now wished to return to the Church and Cornelius was involved in a dispute as to whether they could return without penances to receive full Communion again. He was lenient towards the lapsed and this caused a rival party to set up against him led by a priest called Novatian, who became an anti-pope. They insisted that apostasy was unforgivable and should not be allowed back. A fierce argument arose and it was settled by the bishops of Carthage and Rome in favour of Cornelius. Later in his reign, when persecution reared up again, he was exiled and died because of the harsh conditions he had to endure.