Benedict I was the bishop of Rome who served from 575 until his death in 579. Born in Rome to a man named Boniface, he led the Church during a turbulent era characterized by the Lombard expansion across Italy. His reign was marked by significant hardships, including periods of famine affecting Rome and various regions of Byzantine Italy. Because of the military advances by the Lombards, the process of confirming his election by the emperor in Constantinople was delayed for nearly eleven months.