![[illustration of Saint Gregory]](saintg34.jpg "16kb jpg illustration of Pope Saint Gregory II; artist unknown; if you have information on this image, please email me; please do not write to ask about the image")
Gregory the Younger Gregory Junior
89th pope in 715. Held synods to correct abuses, stopped heresy and promoted discipline and morality in religious and clerical life. Rebuilt a great portion of the walls of Rome to protect the city against the Lombards. Restored churches, cared for the sick and aged, reestablished monasteries and abbeys. Consecrated Saint Boniface and Saint Corbinian as missionary bishops to the tribes in Germany. English pilgrims increased to the point that they required a church, cemetery, and school of their own.
In his dealings with Emperor Leo III, Gregory's showed strength and patience. Leo demanded destruction of holy images. When bishops failed to convince him of his error, they disobeyed and appealed to the Pope. Gregory tried to change the emperor's thinking, counseled the people to maintain allegiance to the prince, and encouraged the bishops to oppose the heresy. It appears he won out.
Catholic Encyclopedia New Catholic Dictionary Pope Gregory II Commends Bishop Boniface to the Christians of Germany Pope Gregory II Gregory Invests Boniface with Episcopal Authority Pope Gregory II Commends Boniface to the Leaders of Thuringia Pope Gregory II Commends Boniface to Charles Martel Pope Gregory II Commends Boniface to the People of Thuringia Pope Gregory II Replies to Questions Put by Boniface Pope Gregory II Invests Boniface with the Pallium Book of Saints, by the Monks of Ramsgate Our Sunday Visitor's Encyclopedia of Saints, by Matthew Bunson, Margaret Bunson, and Stephen Bunson