Saint Gregory the Great

Gregory was born around 540 into a noble Roman family and became prefect of Rome while still young. He soon gave up public life, turned his family home on the Caelian Hill into the monastery of Saint Andrew and became a monk. Pope Pelagius II sent him as his representative to Constantinople. In 590, during a plague, Gregory was elected pope against his own wishes; he was consecrated on September 3.

As pope he fed the hungry of Rome, negotiated with the Lombards, reformed the liturgy and clergy, and in 596 sent Augustine and forty monks to evangelize the English. His Pastoral Rule shaped bishops for centuries, and his Dialogues and Moralia on Job became spiritual classics. He called himself "servant of the servants of God," a title popes still use. He died on March 12, 604.

The Church honors him on the anniversary of his consecration. Gregorian chant is named after him, and choirs and musicians often celebrate his day.

The pious custom of "Gregorian Masses," thirty Masses offered on consecutive days for a deceased person, traces back to a story in his Dialogues and is still requested in parishes throughout Latin America and the world.