St. Gregory the Great was a civilian official before becoming a monk, a cardinal, and finally, one of the most influential popes the Church has ever known.

He was born in 540, the son of a wealthy Roman senator. He was educated by the best teachers in Rome, and when he was still a young man, the emperor named him chief magistrate of Rome.

He filled this role for five years but clearly had other desires on his heart than his political career. When his father died, Gregory turned his home into a monastery and became a monk. He used his inheritance to build six other monasteries in the region.

When it came time to select a new pope, the faithful unanimously selected him by popular acclaim. As pope, Gregory was filled with zeal—he worked tirelessly and his contributions profoundly shaped the life of the Church.

As leader of the Church, he kept a close watch over the clergy and encouraged them towards holiness. He used papal money to ransom prisoners and to care for persecuted Jews and victims of famine and sickness. People of his day called him the father of the city of Rome, and the joy of the world.

He once observed English children being sold in the Roman Forum as slaves, and the sight made him decide to send missionaries to Canterbury—this was the beginning of Christianity among the Anglo-Saxons. He also sent missionaries to France, Spain, and parts of Africa during a time when Europe was being overturned by Lombards, barbarian forces from the north. These efforts helped Christianize these forces—Gregory himself went to visit the king of the Lombards.

Gregory is known best for his contributions to the liturgy. He reformed the Mass and the daily prayer of the Church and wrote prayers we still use today as well as commentaries on Scripture that shaped theology through the Middle Ages. He also collected melodies of plain chant used in the liturgy—today that style is known as Gregorian chant, after him.

Gregory is one of the four great doctors of the Church, along with St. Ambrose, St. Augustine, and St. Jerome. These four and 33 other doctors have been singled out for their ability to articulate and teach the faith.

Gregory died in 604, and his relics rest in the reliquary chapel in the Basilica. He is patron of teachers and students, musicians and masons. He is depicted in several places on campus, here in stained glass from the Basilica and the second window from the chapel in Lyons Hall. He is often shown with a bird nearby—it is said that the Holy Spirit in the form of a dove spoke into his ear when he preached.

“The proof of love is in the works,” St. Gregory said. “Where love exists, it works great things. But when it ceases to act, it ceases to exist.”

Pope St. Gregory the Great, you were the monk who became one of the greatest popes ever--pray for us!