Today, July 30, is the memorial of Saint Peter Chrysologus.
Doctor of the Church.
Around the year 380, Peter was born in North-Central Italy. Through Pope St. Sixtus III’s appointment, Peter became bishop of Ravenna, Italy. He fought paganism and the Monophysite heresy, enforced reforms, and built several churches and ornate altars in his see.
He was a magnificent preacher with such language skills that he was given the name “Chrysologus”, referring to his golden word. He was the kind of preacher who kept his homilies simple, short, and inspired. He feared that people would be bored to death with long sermons.
During a visit to his birth-town in the year 450, Peter died of natural causes.
A total of 176 of his sermons have survived; it is the strength of these beautiful explanations of the Incarnation, the Creed, the place of Mary and John the Baptist in the great plan of salvation, among others, that led to his being proclaimed a Doctor of the Church in 1729 by the Servant of God Pope Benedict XIII.