Benedict I (Latin Benedictus; Greek nickname Bonosus, 'the good') was elected Bishop of Rome on June 2, 575, after the see had been vacant for nearly eleven months (the Lombard invasion of Italy that had begun in 568 had made communication between Rome and Constantinople — which still nominally had to approve papal elections — extraordinarily difficult).
His four-year pontificate is principally significant for the catastrophic foundational context: the Lombard invasion of Italy was rapidly consuming the Italian peninsula, and the great famine of 577–579 was devastating the city of Rome itself. Benedict's principal pastoral work was the substantial famine-relief organization (he is recorded as personally directing the distribution of grain supplies from Egypt and Sicily to the starving Roman population) and the foundational maintenance of episcopal succession in the Italian dioceses that the Lombards had not yet conquered.
He died at Rome on July 30, 579 — possibly from causes related to the famine and the substantial physical demands of the pastoral-administrative work.