September 3 - Saint Gregory the Great

Quick Facts

• Son of a wealthy Roman senator and Saint SilviaNephew of Saint Emiliana and Saint Tarsilla.
• Great-grandson of Pope Saint Felix III.
• Educated by the finest teachers in Rome.
• Prefect of Rome for a year, then he sold his possessions, turned his home into a Benedictine monastery, and used his money to build six monasteries in Sicily and one in Rome.
• Benedictine monk.
• Upon seeing English children being sold in the Roman Forum, he became a missionary to England.
• Elected 64th Pope by unanimous acclamation on 3 September 590, the first monk to be chosen.
• Sent Saint Augustine of Canterbury and a company of monks to evangelize England, and other missionaries to France, Spain, and Africa.
• Collected the melodies and plain chant so associated with him that they are now known as Gregorian Chants.
• One of the four great Doctors of the Latin Church.Wrote seminal works on the Mass and Office.