Sardinian mines, popes & an antipope

[Irenaeus]

I often get a first glance at the morning's news from Microsoft Bing. This morning it featured a photo of Porto Flavia in Sardinia, the Mediterranean Sea's second biggest island (Sicily is its biggest) to show how its limestone cliffs were transformed into a dock for loading ores from mines in the area into ships. This reminded me that, according to the online Catholic Encyclopedia: "In the second and third centuries many Roman Christians, including Callistus, later pope, Pope St. Pontian(us), and the antipope Hippolytus, were sent to the island (described as nociva [noxious*]): the last two died there." While there, it is believed that Hippolytus was reconciled to Pope St. Pontian(us) and to the Catholic Church. St. Hippolytus is the only antipope canonized as a saint.

* In 2025, Sardinia has only about 1.6 million residents vs Sicily's 4.8 million. I know many people here in the USA with Sicilian ancestry but few with Sardinian ancestry. Sardinia is a popular tourist destination owing to its glorious beaches but in the early centuries of Christianity it was known as the "Island of Death."

Today on Bing, 14 May 2025

Porto Flavia on Google Maps

[Riverboat]

In essence, it was a death camp.