John III
Elected to the papacy in 561, Catelinus, probably the son of a Roman senator, took the name John. He may have been the translator of the Sayings of the Elders and may also have been the compiler of the Exposition of the Heptateuch. Little is known about his reign because Lombards destroyed the records of it. In 571, John appealed to Narses, a Byzantine general, for help against the invading Lombards. Since the Romans blamed Narses for the invasion, John's action made him unpopular. He hid in the catacombs until Narses died c. 573. John himself died about a year later.
Karen Rae Keck
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