How do we know he was pope? Like his predecessors before him, Anicetus is identified as the 10th successor of St. Peter and 11th Bishop of Rome by St. Irenaeus in Adversus haeresis.

Anicetus was Syrian by birth, according to the Liber Pontificalis (a “who’s who” pope history book), and was likely born around the time St. John died at the end of the 1st Century. His name means “unconquered” in Greek, and he is remembered as a martyr. His feast day is celebrated on April 20.

St. Anicetus gave the Church a good lesson in how to agree to disagree with a fellow bishop without one side or the other saying, “I’m taking my ball and going...to start my own church.” When his friend, St. Polycarp (the guy who was St. John's disciple), came to town to discuss whether Easter should be celebrated on a Sunday or on the 14th day of the month of Nisan (month on the Hebrew calendar), the two couldn’t come to an agreement, but decided to still remain best buds.

Fun fact: When Anicetus was pope, a man named Hegesippus, who’s remembered as being one of the first legitimate Christian historians, came to Rome. Most Church authors throughout history take Hegesippus’ visit as a sign that the earliest Christians echoed Scott Hahn in saying “Rome Sweet Home” and affirming the authority of Rome’s bishop, the pope. 

Around the year 160, Romans apparently started making soap from grease, lime, and ashes. Gross.