Pope Gregory the Great

Who is Pope Gregory the Great?

Pope Gregory I, known as Gregory the Great, served as Bishop of Rome from 590 until his death in 604 and is remembered as one of the most influential popes of the early medieval Church. Born into a wealthy Roman senatorial family, he served as prefect of Rome before withdrawing to monastic life, later being called back into papal service. As pope, he reformed the liturgy and administration of the Church, organized relief for the poor and refugees during famine and plague, and negotiated directly with Lombard invaders to protect Rome when imperial authority in Italy had all but collapsed. He is especially remembered for dispatching the monk Augustine of Canterbury to England in 597 to convert the Anglo-Saxons, an event traditionally linked to his famous remark upon seeing fair-haired English boys for sale in a Roman market: "Not Angles, but angels." Gregory also adopted the title "Servus servorum Dei," or "Servant of the servants of God," which remains part of the official papal style used by every pope since. His extensive writings, including the Pastoral Rule and Dialogues, shaped medieval Christian thought for centuries, and Gregorian chant is traditionally named in his honor.

Sources: The Venerable Bede, Ecclesiastical History of the English People, Book II (completed 731 AD) · Pope Gregory the Great, Pastoral Rule (Regula Pastoralis), circa 590 AD · Pope Gregory the Great, Dialogues, circa 593 AD