Pope Hyginus was Bishop of Rome from 137 until 142 AD. It is sometimes said that he died a martyr, but it’s pretty hard to verify that. What is known, though, is that Pope Hyginus battled the Gnostic heresy, decreed that churches had to be consecrated before Mass could be celebrated inside them, and established the practice of baptismal sponsors for the baptism of infants — Pope Hyginus basically came up with the idea of godparents…