1. sylvester, st. the name of three Popes: S. I., Pope from 314 to 335; S. II., Pope from 999 to 1003, alleged, from his recondite knowledge as an alchemist, to have been in league with the devil; and S. III., Anti-Pope from 1041 to 1046.
2. sylvester, st. the first Pope of the name, said to have converted Constantine and his mother by restoring a dead ox to life which a magician for a trial of skill killed, but could not restore to life; is usually represented by an ox lying beside him, and sometimes in baptizing Constantine.