St. Silverius was a native of Campania and was a legitimate son of Pope Hormisdas. He succeeded Agapitus in the Papacy ruling the Holy See from 8 June 536 until his martyrdom on 2 December 537. A dispute with the Empress Theodora had him banished to the island of Ponza. There he wrote to a bishop “I am fed upon the bread of tribulation and the water of affliction, but nevertheless I have not given up, and I will not give up, doing my duty.”
Many miracles at his grave led Christians to venerate him as a saint. One particularly famous story recalls that fishermen were in a small boat in a storm off Palmarola and they called on Saint Silverius for help. An apparition of Saint Silverius called them to Palmarola, where they survived and he is now ow the patron saint of the island of Ponza, Italy.
Prayer
Look forgivingly on thy flock, Eternal Shepherd, and keep it in thy constant protection, by the intercession of blessed Sylvester thy Martyr and Sovereign Pontiff, whom thou didst constitute Shepherd of the whole Church.
Through Jesus Christ, thy Son our Lord, Who liveth and reigneth with thee, in the unity of the Holy Ghost, ever one God, world without end. Amen.