Today, September 3, is the memorial of Pope Saint Gregory the Great.
Doctor of the Church.
Born in the year 540 in Rome, Gregory was the son of Gordianus, a Roman regionarius, and St. Silvia of Rome. He was the nephew of St. Emiliana and St. Tarsilla, and the great-grandson of Pope St. Felix III.
He was educated by the best teachers in Rome. He served as Prefect of Rome for a year, then he sold his possessions and turned his home into a Benedictine monastery. He then became a Benedictine monk, and used his money to build six monasteries in Sicily and one in Rome.
Upon seeing English children being sold in the Roman Forum, he became a missionary to England.
He was the first monk to be chosen Pope, becoming the 64th by unanimous acclamation in 590.
He sent St. Augustine of Canterbury and a company of monks to evangelize England, and other missionaries to France, Spain, and Africa.
He collected the melodies and plain chant so associated with him that they are now known as Gregorian Chants.
He wrote seminal works on the Mass and Divine Office, several of them dictated to his secretary, Saint Peter the Deacon. Among his writings were “Commentary on Job,” “Pastoral Care (Liber regulae pastoralis),” “Dialogues,” and “Sermons.”
Gregory died of natural causes at age 64 in 604. His mortal remains are in St. Peter’s Basilica, Rome.