Gregory the Great

 There are only 4 Popes (out of 266 total Popes) who have been given the appellation "the Great." Pope St. Leo I (440-461), Pope St. Nicholas I (858-867), Pope St. John-Paul II (discussed in an earlier post) and Pope St. Gregory I.

Gregory was born in Rome about 540 to a wealthy noble family. Like most young men of his time and class, Gregory was well educated in grammar, rhetoric, the sciences, literature and law. He excelled in his studies. He became a government official, advancing quickly to become Prefect of Rome, the highest civil office, when he was 33. 

On his father's death, Gregory converted his family home into a monastery. He had a deep respect for the monastic life, especially for the vow of poverty. Pope Pelagius II ordained Gregory a Deacon and in 579 chose him as his ambassador to the imperial court in Constantinople, a post he would hold until 586. He then returned to his monastery until in 590, he was elected by acclamation to succeed Pelagius II, who had died of the plague. Gregory was more inclined to monastic life and bemoaned the burden of his office and the loss of the undisturbed life of prayer.

Pope Gregory had strong convictions on missions and is credited with re-energizing the Church's missionary work among the non-Christian peoples of northern Europe. His most famous mission was to send Augustine of Canterbury to evangelize the pagan Anglo-Saxons of Britain. The mission was successful, and it was from England that later missionaries set out to evangelize the Netherlands and Germany. In his official documents, Gregory was the first to make extensive use of the term "Servant of the Servants of God."

Pope Gregory made a general revision of the liturgy, "removing many things, changing a few, adding some." This was the Pre-Tridentine Mass, but some of his reforms from that time still have echos in the Mass as we celebrate it today. One thing that is often attributed to him is the form of plainchant known as Gregorian Chant. This chant was actually standardized in the late 9th century, almost 3 centuries after Gregory's death, and is the result of the fusion of Roman and Frankish elements.

Pope St. Gregory I died in 604 and is buried in St. Peter's Basilica. He is patron of musicians, singers, students and teachers. His feast day is September 3.

 St. Gregory the Great, pray for us.