[1] Adrian laboured hard to alleviate the misery of the people of Italy, prey to famine and to continuous war.
[2] He is also known to have written a letter condemning the Christians of both Muslim-ruled and Christian-ruled parts of Spain for being too friendly with the Jews in these lands.
[3] Adrian also sent Theodosius, the bishop of Brindisi and Oria, to Constantinople to deliver a synodal letter about faith and the filioque to patriarch Photius I.
[4] Adrian died in July 885 at San Cesario sul Panaro (Modena), not long after embarking on a trip to Worms, in the Rhineland.
His cult was confirmed by Pope Leo XIII on 2 June 1891, and his feast day is celebrated on 8 July.