Pope Boniface I was the bishop of Rome from 28 December 418 to his death on 4 September 422. His election was disputed by the supporters of Eulalius until the dispute was settled by Emperor Honorius. Boniface was active in maintaining church discipline, and he restored certain privileges to the metropolitical sees of Narbonne and Vienne, exempting them from any subjection to the primacy of Arles. He was a contemporary of Augustine of Hippo, who dedicated to him some of his works.
Boniface I ordered that Gloria in excelsis Deo be sung on Maundy Thursday (16th century sheet music)
Papal selection before 1059
The selection of the Pope, the Bishop of Rome and Supreme Pontiff of the Catholic Church, prior to the promulgation of In Nomine Domini in AD 1059 varied throughout history. Popes were often putatively appointed by their predecessors or by political rulers. While some kind of election often characterized the procedure, an election that included meaningful participation of the laity was rare, especially as the Popes' claims to temporal power solidified into the Papal States. The practice of papal appointment during this period would later result in the putative jus exclusivae, i.e., the claimed but invalid right to veto the selection that Catholic monarchs exercised into the twentieth century.
Fabian was reputedly selected as bishop because a dove landed on him, the first historical reference to a method of papal succession.
Cyprian of Carthage provides the earliest written evidence of papal election.
Pope Symmachus's triumph over Laurentius is the first recorded case of papal simony.
Justinian I appointed three popes following his invasion of Italy.