St Leo the Great

Word for the day

“And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it.” Matthew 16:18

Life

Leo was probably born in Tuscany or in Rome near the end of the fourth century. As a deacon of the Roman Church he was already trusted with important tasks, and while he was on a mission in Gaul in 440 he was elected Bishop of Rome. He served as Pope for twenty-one years, until his death on 10 November 461.

Leo defended the true faith about Christ. In 449 he wrote a letter, known as the Tome, to Flavian, Patriarch of Constantinople, explaining that in the one Person of Jesus Christ the divine and human natures are united without confusion and without division. At the Council of Chalcedon in 451 the bishops welcomed the letter, and the Council's acts record their acclamation that Peter had spoken through Leo.

He was also a shepherd in dangerous times. In 452 he went out to meet Attila the Hun in northern Italy, and Attila turned back. In 455 he persuaded Genseric the Vandal to spare the people of Rome from burning and massacre. Nearly a hundred of his sermons survive, especially on the feasts of Christ. He was declared a Doctor of the Church in 1754.

Lessons

Know the faith clearly

Leo shows that loving Christ includes knowing who he is: true God and true man.

Courage in crisis

He faced invading armies with prayer and the authority of his office, not with weapons.

Preach the feasts

His sermons help the faithful enter the mysteries of Christmas, Lent, Easter and Pentecost.

Stories

Meeting Attila (tradition)

In 452 Leo, with two Roman officials, met Attila near Mantua, and the Huns withdrew from Italy. Later tradition added that Attila saw the apostles Peter and Paul standing beside the Pope.

Words of the saint

“Christian, remember your dignity.”
St Leo the Great, Sermon 1 on the Nativity of the Lord (Office of Readings, 25 December)

Homily

1. Know who Christ is

True God and true man, one Person: Leo's Tome gave the Church clear words for its faith.

2. Peter speaks

You are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church (Matthew 16:18). Leo served unity as Peter's successor.

3. Remember your dignity

Leo's Christmas cry: Christian, remember your dignity. Live as one who shares the life of God.

Dear friends, Pope Leo the Great lived in a time of confusion and danger. Inside the Church people argued about who Christ is; outside, the Huns and the Vandals threatened Rome. Leo answered both with the same weapons: truth and prayer.

To the confusion he gave clarity: Jesus Christ is one Person, truly God and truly man, without mixture and without division. The bishops at Chalcedon, hearing his letter, said that Peter had spoken through Leo. Jesus had told Peter: you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church (Matthew 16:18). Leo served that rock.

And to every Christian he gave a sentence we hear each Christmas: Christian, remember your dignity. Because God became man, we share in the life of God. Let us not live beneath that dignity. Today let us know our faith a little better, read one page of the Catechism, and thank God for the gift of the Church's unity. Amen.

Prayer

God our Father, you built your Church on the rock of Peter's faith. Through the prayers of Pope St Leo the Great, keep us firm in the truth and united in your love. Amen.