A pope of plague and of music

By Tony Staley
Compass Editor

	St. Gregory the Great When: c. 540-604 What: Pope, Doctor of the Church Feast: Sept. 3 Patron: Musicians, teachers, singers, popes and plague victims

Pope Gregory I's accomplishments affected the church and civil society for so many centuries it's easy to see why he was called "The Great" and popularly acclaimed a saint shortly after he died. Plus, he reigned only 13 years.

Gregory was born into a rich and influential Roman family. Two of his ancestors, including his great-great-grandfather, had been popes. His father, Gordian, was a civic leader and his mother, Silvia, was a saint.

By the time he was 30, Gregory was prefect of Rome, the most important civic post in the city. But after his father died, Gregory resigned and turned his house into a monastery where he lived as a monk. He used the rest of his wealth to start six monasteries in Sicily and to help the poor.

Four years later, Pope Pelagius II ordained him one of his seven deacons and named him ambassador to the Byzantine court. Seven years later, Gregory was recalled to Rome and went back to his monastery. A couple of years later, he and a group of monks left as missionaries to England. But before they got far, Pelagius asked them to return to plague-stricken Rome.

Pelagius soon died of the plague and Gregory, though only a deacon, became the first monk to be elected pope. He declined until the emperor ordered him to accept.

As pope, Gregory acted decisively, removing unfit clerics from office, banning the clergy from charging fees for burials and ordinations, and generously helping the poor. He vigorously promoted monasteries, made changes to the Mass - including the addition of the Our Father - and championed the use of the liturgical music that was later commonly called Gregorian Chant.

Gregory wrote numerous letters and sermons, and a book on the duties of bishops that served as the manual for medieval church leaders. In it, he said that the chief duties of a bishop were preaching and enforcing discipline. His Forty Homilies on the Gospel combine storytelling, doctrine and scripture.

Gregory is also known for sending 40 monks, led by St. Augustine of Canterbury, to England to convert the Anglo-Saxons.

Nor did Gregory confine himself to the church world. The Lombards were threatening to invade Rome and the Byzantine emperor's representative refused to act. Gregory reached a deal with the Lombards that included a bribe and annual payments. The emperor rejected the deal and refused financial support, so Gregory became both the spiritual and civil leader, making treaties, appointing governors and generals, and paying the soldiers.

Gregory was in poor health for much of his papacy and by the time of his death could not walk because of gout. Despite all he had done for Rome, the city, beset by both famine and another siege, blamed him for these problems as his life neared its end.