He was by birth an Ostrogoth, the first Germanic pope, and he owed his appointment to the influence of the Gothic king Athalaric. Boniface was chosen by his predecessor, Pope Felix IV, who had been a strong adherent of the Arian king, and was never elected. Boniface had for some time an antipope, Dioscurus, who had been elected by most of the priests of Rome. Boniface and Dioscorus were both consecrated in Rome on 22 September530, but Dioscurus died only twenty-two days later.
