![[Pope Saint Leo the Great]](saintl04.jpg "46kb jpg detail of the marble bas-relief 'The Meeting of Leo I and Attila', c.1650, by Alessandro Algardi, the Basilica of Saint Peter, Vatican City; if you have information on this image, please email me; please do not write to ask about the image")
10 November formerly 11 April
Pope from 440 to 461 during the time of the invasion of Attila the Hun. When Attila marched on Rome, Leo went out to meet him and pleaded for leave. As Leo spoke, Attila saw the vision of a man in priestly robes, carrying a bare sword, and threatening to kill the invader if he did not obey Pope Leo. As Leo had a great devotion to Saint Peter, it is generally believed the first pope was the visionary opponent to the Huns. When Genseric invaded Rome, Leo's sanctity and eloquence saved the city again.
Called the Council of Chalcedon to condemn heresies of the day. Fought Nestorianism, Monophysitism, Manichaeism, and Pelagianism. Built churches. Wrote letters and sermons encouraging and teaching his flock, many of which survive today; it is for these writings that Leo was proclaimed a Doctor of the Church in 1574.
Aeterna Dei Sapientia: On Saint Leo the Great: Encyclical of Pope John XXIII Book of Saints, by the Monks of Ramsgate Catholic Encyclopedia, by J P Kirsch Catholic Information Network Catholic Online Christian Biographies, by James E Keifer Columbia Encyclopedia Ecole Glossary, by Karen Rae Keck For All the Saints, by Katherine Rabenstein Google Directory Leo Ignatius Lives of the Saints, by John J Crawley Nativity of the Saviour, by Pope Saint Leo the Great New Catholic Dictionary On the Nature of Christ, by Pope Saint Leo the Great Our Sunday Visitor's Encyclopedia of Saints, by Matthew Bunson, Margaret Bunson, and Stephen Bunson Pope Leo the Great on Lent Pope Leo the Great on the Papacy Pope Saint Leo the Great and Papal Supremacy Popes Through the Ages, by Father Joseph Brusher Vietnamese Eucharistic Youth Society Sermon on his Day of Ordination Sermon Delivered on the Anniversary of His Consecration Letter to the Bishop of Aquileia Letter to the Bishops Appointed in Campania, Picenum, Etruria, and all the Provinces Letter to Proterius, Bishop of Alexandria
- Council of Chalcedon
Virtue is nothing without the trial of temptation, for there is no conflict without an enemy, no victory without strife.
Pope Saint Leo the Great
Although the universal Church of God is constituted of distinct orders of members, still, in spite of the many parts of its holy body, the Church subsists as an integral whole, just as the Apostle says: "We are all one in Christ," nor is anyone separated from the office of another in such a way that a lower group has no connection with the head. In the unity of faith and baptism, our community is then undivided. There is a common dignity as the apostle Peter says in these words: "And you are built up as living stones into spiritual houses, a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices which are acceptable to God through Jesus Christ." And again: "But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people of election."
For all, regenerated in Christ, as made kings by the sign of the cross. They are consecrated priests by the oil of the Holy Spirit, so that beyond the special service of our ministry as priests, all spiritual and mature Christians know that they are a royal race and are sharers in the office of the priesthood. For what is more king-like than to find yourself ruler over your body after having surrendered your soul to God? And what is more priestly than to promise the Lord a pure conscience and to offer him in love unblemished victims on the altar of one's heart?
from a sermon by Pope Saint Leo the Great
God decreed that all nations should be saved in Christ.
Dear friends, now that we have received instruction in this revelation of God's grace, let us celebrate with spiritual joy the day of our first harvesting, of the first calling of the Gentiles. Let us give thanks to the merciful God, "who has made us worthy," in the words of the Apostle, "to share the position of the saints in light; who has rescued us from the power of darkness, and brought us into the kingdom of this beloved Son."
This came to be fulfilled, as we know, from the time when the star beckoned the three wise men out of their distant country and led them to recognize and adore the King of heaven and earth. The obedience of the star calls us to imitate its humble service: to be servants, as best we can, of the grace that invites all men to find Christ.
from a sermon by Pope Saint Leo the Great