Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Vatican City (Agenzia Fides) – The Holy Father Benedict XVI dedicated his catechesis during the audience on Wednesday, May 28, to the figure of “one of the greatest fathers in the history of the Church, one of the four doctors of the West, Pope Gregory, who was bishop of Rome between the years 590 and 604, and who merited on the part of tradition the title ‘magnus’ -- great.” He was born around the year 540 in Rome, of a rich patrician family with a profound Christian faith, from whence had already come two Popes. Gregory entered an administrative career, which his father had also followed, and in 572 he reached the top, becoming prefect of the city. This office, in spite of the sadness of that time, allowed him to apply himself to a vast range of administrative problems, gleaning from them light for his future endeavors. Shortly following this, he decided to leave all civil posts to retire to his home and begin the life of a monk, transforming the family home into the monastery of St. Andrew in Celio.
The Pope commented that, “from this period of monastic life, a life of permanent dialogue with the Lord and listening to his word, there remained in him a constant nostalgia which repeatedly and increasingly appears in his homilies. In the midst of relentless pastoral concerns, he would recall it several times in his writings as a happy time of recollection in God, of dedication to prayer, and of serene immersion in study. He was thus able to acquire that profound knowledge of sacred Scripture and of the Fathers of the Church of which he was to make use later in his works.”
However, Gregory's cloistered retirement did not last long. In fact, Pope Pelagius appointed him deacon and sent him to Constantinople to help overcome the last remains of the monophysite controversy, and above all to obtain the emperor's support in the effort to contain the Lombard invaders. The Pope recalled that, “his stay in Constantinople, where he again took up the monastic life with a group of monks, was most important for Gregory, as it allowed him to gain direct experience in the Byzantine world, as well as to address the problem of the Lombards, which would later acutely test his ability and energy in the years of his pontificate. After some years, he was recalled to Rome by the Pope, who appointed him his secretary.” They were difficult years with constant rains, rivers bursting their banks, famine, and plague that claimed many victims, Pope Pelagius II among them. . The decision was unanimous in electing Gregory as Successor to the See of Peter. After trying to resist, in the end he gave in. It was the year 590.
The new Pontiff began to work immediately with determination, showing that from the beginning he had, as Benedict XVI pointed out, “a singularly lucid vision of reality against which he should be measured, an extraordinary capacity for work in addressing both ecclesial as well as civil issues, a constant balance in his decisions, including the difficult ones that his mission imposed on him. An ample documentation is kept of his governance thanks to the Register of his letters -- approximately 800 -- which reflect the daily confrontation of complex questions that arrived on his desk.” He dedicated all his energy to resolving the problems that afflicted Italy and Rome at that time there was one of particular relevance in both the civil as well as ecclesial ambits: the Lombard question. “St. Gregory looked on these people with the eyes of the Good Shepherd, concerned about proclaiming to them the word of salvation, establishing with them relations of fraternity oriented toward a future peace founded on reciprocal respect and peaceful coexistence among Italians, imperialists and Lombards. He was concerned with the conversion of young peoples and immigrants in Britain and the Lombards were the privileged beneficiaries of his evangelizing mission.”
Benedict XVI also recalled the series of letters sent from Pope Gregory to with Queen Theodelinda, who was a Bavarian princess with a profound Catholic faith that played an important role in reaching peaceful terms with the Lombardi. “The work of this queen constitutes a beautiful testimony of the importance of women in the history of the Church.”
Along with his purely spiritual and pastoral action, Pope Gregory was also an active protagonist of a multi-faceted social activity, in spite of his delicate health that often obliged him to stay in bed for long days. “Despite the most difficult conditions in which he had to act, he succeeded in winning, thanks to the holiness of his life and his rich humanity, the trust of the faithful, obtaining for his time and for the future truly great results. He was a man immersed in God: The desire for God was always alive in the depth of his soul and precisely because of this he was always very close to his neighbor, to the needs of the people of his time. During a disastrous and desperate time, he was able to create peace and hope. This man of God shows us the true fonts of peace, from which true hope comes, and so becomes a guide also for us today.”
At the close of the Audience, the Pope gave a special greeting to the priests from the “Pontificio Collegio San Paolo Apostolo” who have finished their studies in the carious Pontifical Universities and will now return to their countries: “Dear priests, I encourage you to always live your pastoral ministry with fidelity, treasuring the formation you have received during these years in Rome.” Later, he greeted the teachers, students, and parents of the pilgrimage “Maestre Pie Filippini,” on the occasion of the 300th anniversary of the opening of Rome’s first school by Saint Lucia Filippini. He encouraged the Sisters to follow the example of their Foundress, to take advantage of their work to “contribute with renewed vigor, in response to the education emergency of the city of Rome, the heart of Christianity.” (SL) (Agenzia Fides 29/5/2008 righe 74, parole 1010)
