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Callixtus established the practice of the absolution of all repented sins. Hippolytus was especially upset by the pope's admitting to communion those who had repented for murder, adultery, and fornication. A spot on which he had built an oratory was claimed by tavern keepers, but the Emperor decided that the worship of any god was better than a tavern. This is said to have been the origin of Santa Maria in Trastevere. In fact the Church of St Callistus is close by, containing a well into which legend says his body was thrown, and this is probably the church he built, rather than the more famous basilica.

It is possible that Callixtus was martyred around 222, perhaps during a popular uprising, but the legend that he was thrown down a well has no historical foundation. He is honored as a martyr in Todi, Italy, on August 14. He was buried in the cemetery of Calepodius on the Aurelian Way . His relics were transferred to Santa Maria in Trastevere in the ninth century.