St. Gregory the Great: Shepherd and Evangelist

by Fr. John Granato  |  09/01/2024  |  Words from Fr. John

My Dear Friends,

September 3rd is the feast day of Pope St. Gregory the Great. He reigned as pope from 590 to 604 AD. He was a nobleman destined for a career in civil government in Rome but soon became disillusioned with Rome and entered the Benedictine order. He wasn't to be in the monastery for long, though, as Pope Pelagius II sent him to Constantinople as a papal legate.

St. Gregory returned to his monastery in 584 in the midst of Rome being overrun by the Lombards and with natural disasters, including flooding which led to an outbreak of a plague.

In 590, Pope Pelagius died and Gregory was unanimously elected pope. He continually tried to reject the election. After finally accepting it as God's will, Gregory began to clean up the pontifical court of the corruption of the priests, deacons, and bishops that surrounded him. He also began cleaning up the city of Rome itself.

St. Gregory had a true evangelizing spirit about him and brought an evangelical zeal for the salvation of souls, at a time that most people in Rome felt the imminent death of their city. St. Gregory believed that the Mass was also a way of bringing that evangelical zeal to the people. He organized the Gregorian Sacramentary and compiled a book of hymns, called Antiphonarius. He is also the one for whom Gregorian chant is named.

About the role of a shepherd, Pope St. Gregory the Great wrote, "The true shepherd of souls is true in his thoughts, fearless in his deeds, wise in silence, fluent in speaking. He approaches everyone with charity and compassion, surpasses all by his relationship with God, joining humbly with those who do good works, but rises up in zealous justice against the vices of sinners. In his external functions he does not neglect matters of the soul, neither does he neglect to take care of external matters." He truly is one of the great popes in the Church's long illustrious history. God bless.