Saint Gregory the Great, Pope and Doctor of the Church

He is one of the first four Doctors of the Church of the West, who promoted the evangelization of England and laid down the fundamental norms for chants, which later took his name. Gregory the Great was born to a wealthy Roman patrician family, some time around 540. He received a sound education, studying a range of subjects that went from the law, to the Bible, to the works of the Fathers, in particular of Saint Augustine.

When he had just turned 30, he was appointed Prefect of Rome and his work was admired by his fellow citizens and by the imperial authorities. He was called "the consul of God". After his father’s  death, his mother Silvia became a nun, and he transformed his palace on the Celio into a monastery, dedicated to Saint Andrew.

The admiration that surrounded him and his witness of a life lied in austerity led Pelagius II to send him as his representative to Emperor Tiberius II in Constantinople, where he remained until about 586. When he returned to Rome, after Pelagius II had died from the plague, he was elected Pope. One of the first things he did was to call for a procession to ask God for an end to the epidemic that was decimating the population.

He dedicated himself to the restoration of religious buildings and founded some monasteries. In the difficult political and social situation that existed in Rome with the absence of Byzantine power and the threat of the Lombards, Gregory managed to coordinate and organize civil life in the city. He was able to manage the patrimony of the Church of Rome (Patrimonium Petri) and appointed several trusted rectors whom he charged with administrative powers and spiritual authority.

He was a fervent preacher and wrote many letters and various works, among which the Homilies and the Moralia in Iob ("Moral Reflections on the Book of Job"), which spread rapidly. In the face of a world that was declining and seemed destined to disappear, he suggested an authentic Christian life. He also wrote the Dialogues, a hagiographic text, in which book II is dedicated to Benedict of Norcia. He was the first to use Servus servorum dei, "servant of the servants of God" in official letters, a title that Popes have continued to use. He also has a Sacramentarium and an Antiphonarium.

He died in 604, and was buried in the Basilica of Saint Peter. He was immediately considered a saint and left his mark on the life of the Church and society of the time, as a leader of the city of Rome.