It is regrettable that so little is known about the early life of this man who proved to be such an extraordinary shepherd of the Catholic Church that he came to be known not only as Pope Saint Leo I, but also is one of the only two Popes in two thousand years to be called “the Great.”
What we do know is that as a deacon of the Roman Church, before being elevated to the office of Pope in 440 AD, St. Leo the Great had opposed the heresy of Pelagianism which taught that grace was not necessary for salvation, but was rather a bonus that God granted to those who earned it by their good works. As Pope, St. Leo the Great was forceful and unambiguous in his Christological teaching which affirmed the full divinity and humanity of Christ. In fact his most famous writing, commonly known as the Tome of St. Leo (449), was the basis of the Council of Chalcedon’s (451) dogmatic definition of Christ as one Divine Person possessing two complete natures, human and divine.
St. Leo the Great was Pope during the middle of the fifth century, a troubled time when barbarian armies were ravaging the once mighty Roman Empire. For all intents and purposes, the Western Empire was in total political and military collapse and there was a vacuum of political leadership. Pope St. Leo filled the void and became the advocate for the temporal as well as spiritual needs of his flock.
He is perhaps most famous for persuading Attila the Hun to abandon his plans to sack the city of Rome and to withdraw his forces beyond the Danube river (452). St. Leo once again was the spokesperson for the Roman citizenry in 455 when the Vandal barbarians swept into Central Italy, securing concessions from them.
Through both his powerful teaching and his leadership, Pope St. Leo the Great very much strengthened the office of the Papacy and made a strong biblical case for the Divine institution of this ministry by examining the biblical evidence for Peter’s unique role among the apostles.
The writings that survive by St. Leo, besides his famous Tome, consist of 143 letters and 96 sermons. His sermons cover every season of the liturgical year and are indeed a treasure. St. Leo the Great died in 461 and is regarded as one of the most important of the Western Fathers of the Church and was declared a “Doctor of the Church” by Pope Benedict XIV.
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Actually, there are three popes known as “Great” that are listed in the Annuario Pontificio: Pope St. Leo I (reigned 440–61); Pope St. Gregory I (590–604); and Pope St. Nicholas I (858–67).
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_popes#1st_millennium
My hope, which I think is shared by many, is that a fourth will be acknowledged: Pope St. John Paul II the Great.
Yes I do that will happen in my lifetime yet…
I fully agree…grandiosity of Pope St. John Paul II is indeed one of the most relevant figures of the Catholic Cristiniaty in modern times and not only.
Comment: I appreciate.
Just wondering is there no Saint for November 8, 2016?
Pope Saint Leo the Great, pray for us!
Fascinating read…he persuaded Atilla the Hunn not to massacre and looked kind of like Christopher Lee…cool
Pope Saint Leo I, pray for our Church.
Pope Saint Leo I, thank you for saving Rome! Please pray for us and the safety of your Church.
Is good to be Holy and great for Christianity.
God our Father,
you will never allow the powers of hell
to prevail against your Church,
founded on the rock of the apostle Peter.
Let the prayers of Pope Leo the Great
keep us faithful to your truth
and secure in your peace.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.
Amen.
POPE. SAINT. LEO,,,,,,,WHEN,,,YOU,,,COME,,TO,,FIND,,,A,,,,,,,POPE,,,,,,AND,,,,,A,,,SAINT,,,WHO,,,PULLS,,,YOU,,,INTO
HIS. HEART. YOU,,,HAVE,,,BEEN,,,,BLESSED!!!!!!!A. BLESSING,,,FOR,,ALL,,OF,,,YOUR,,,LIFE !!!!!!
Saint Leo the Great, pray for us.
Protect Archbishop Vigano as he continues to wrestle the Truth out of the Vatican as ‘the fiction continues’. Bring peace and protection to Mr. James Grein whose monumental role in the removal of sodomistic T.E. McCarrick from Church hierarchy was entirely glossed over, such a slap in the face to himself and all other victims of the widespread abuse scandal, not just destoying the lives of children emotionally spiritually psychologically and physically, but also the prey of teenage youth and seminarians. Good wholesome faithful students were removed or denied advancement while immoral impious men were promoted and placed in positions of power to continue their predation. Horrific and nauseating. Saint Leo, brace these few brave clergy and their supporters in their heroic attempt to restore the credibility of the Catholic Church hierarchy by their virtue, to replace the sin and heresy with light in the darkness. Amen.