Historians have named at least 38 people called “The Great” people like Alexander the Great, peter the Great and Catherine the Great of Russia, and Charlemagne whose name in French means Charles the Great.

Of the 266 popes in history, only three have been formally called the Great: Leo I, Nicolas I and the saint whose feast day is today, Pope St. Gregory the Great.

He was born in Rome in the year 540. His family was enormously wealthy and his father was Prefect of Rome, an office Gregory himself would hold. In the days when priests could marry, he was the great grandson of a pope: Felix III.

When his father died and Gregory inherited all the lands and other wealth, he gave all of it to the church.

He eventually became Pope, being elected by the people of Rome, as was then the custom. He did not like being pope and tried more than once to resign. He wanted to return to the peace and quiet of the monastery where he had been a monk. His years as a monk were the happiest of his life.

The 6^th century was a difficult time to be pope. The city was literally in ruins; it was surrounded by invading armies; and was continuously devasted by the plague – as many as 1/3 of the population died of the plague. The city was filled with very destitute people living among the ruins and in the streets.

Gregory as Bishop of Rome, the main title of the Pope, supervised the feeding and care of the people of Rome and ordained all the priests to care for the poor. This was a time of no other source of help for people who were sick, homeless, and without any money.

He had a dinner table in his house and would personally invite 12 people every night, cook the dinner himself, and gave a great example to everyone. That table still exists.

He was pope for 14 years. Probably his most important legacy he left the church was the music named after him: Gregorian Chant. It is the most mellow, soothing, and peaceful music in the Church. From time to time it becomes very popular, even if one does not know the Latin, it can calm the soul of even the most agitated person.

When Gregory died, the people of Rome demanded he be canonized a saint immediately, which is what happened.

All the other greats of history were military leaders who expanded their empires through war.

Singular among them was a monk who did not want power, but spend his energy and the treasury of the church to feed starving people living in a once great but then decaying city.

He was great because he was humble and did not enjoy power, but used it in the service of the poor. It would be a benefit today to find such a person again. We may well have one in our present Pope Francis.

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