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Vatican City (Agenzia Fides) - "I hope that all may live this time of study as a unique opportunity for an authentic integral formation. I encourage you to strengthen your adherence to the Gospel, so that you may always be willing and ready to fulfill the Will of God." With these words, the Holy Father addressed several numerous groups of Italian students gathered in the Vatican Basilica for the General Audience on March 5th.
Later, in the Paul VI Hall, the Pope met with the rest of the pilgrims from all over the word. In his address, he focused on the figure of Saint Leo the Great, who was “one of the greatest Pontiffs ever to have graced the See of Rome, offering a great contribution to the strengthening of its name and authority.” He was the first Bishop of Rome to be called Leo, as well as, “the first Pope of whom we have evidence of his preaching to the people who crowded around him during celebrations. A native of Tuscia, Leo was a deacon in the Church of Rome around the year 430, and with the passing of time rose to a position of great importance. In the summer of 440, while Leo was in Galia on a peace mission, he was elected successor of Pope Sixtus III, and was consecrated September 29 of the same year. His pontificate lasted 21 years, and has without a doubt been one of the most important in the history of the Church.” He died on November 10, 461.
The years during the pontificate of Leo the Great were difficult times, due to the repeated barbarian invasions, the progressive weakening of imperial power in the West, and a lengthy social crisis. Thus, the Bishop of Rome also took on “a role in the civil and political happenings of the time.” There was a famous meeting of Pope Leo with Attila the Hun in Mantua, in 452, in which Leo was able to restrain the barbarian invasion that had already destroyed the northeastern regions of Italy. Three years later, in the Spring of 455, to his dismay, he was unable to dissuade the Geiseric Vandals from invading and sacking Rome for two weeks. However, he did convince them not to raze the city and to respect the basilicas of St. Peter's, St. John Lateran and St. Paul's Outside the Walls, where part of the population had taken refuge.
After explaining the important work for peace that Leo the Great had achieved, of which we have testimonies, in addition to the hundreds of sermons and close to 150 letters that have all been handed down through the centuries until now, Benedict XVI said that in these texts, Leo the Great “appears in all his greatness, at the service of the truth within charity, through an indefatigable exercise of the word that reveals him both a theologian and a shepherd...a supporter and an untiring promoter of the Roman primacy, showing himself to be an authentic successor to the Apostle Peter.”
In an important doctrinal text addressed to the Bishop of Constantinople, which was read during the Council of Calcedonia in 451 and later conserved in the Council records, Pope Leo the Great articulated the profound faith in Jesus Christ, true God and true Man, against the heresy of Eutyches that denied the real human nature of the Son of God. “From the moment of that declaration,” the Pope continued, “and following the many others made regarding the Christological controversy during those years, it is evident that the Pope felt the urgent responsibility of Peter’s Successor, whose role is unique in the Church... managed to exercise such responsibilities, in the West like in the East, by intervening in various circumstances with prudence, determination and lucidity through his texts and his bound manuscripts. In so doing he demonstrated the importance of the Roman primacy then, as much as today, in order to effectively serve the communion that is a feature of the one and only Church of Christ.”
In the difficult historical moment in which he lived, “through preaching and pastoral care, Leo the Great was able to stay close to the people and the faithful. He encouraged charitable work in Rome, which suffered from supply shortage, arrival of refugees, injustice, and poverty. He remained firm in the midst of pagan superstitions and Manichean groups. He unified the liturgy and daily life for Christians...In particular, Leo the Great taught his faithful - and his words continue to speak to us - saying that the Christian liturgy is not a recalling of past events, but an actualization of invisible realities that work in the life of each person.”
The Pope concluded the catechesis recalling that, through the strength of his Christological faith, Saint Leo the Great was a great instrument of peace and love. “In this manner, he shows us the path to follow: in faith, we learn charity. Let us learn with Saint Leo Magno, to believe in Christ, true God and true Man, and to renew this faith every day in our efforts for peace and in love for our neighbor.” (SL) (Agenzia Fides 6/3/2008; righe 61, parole 853)
