Pope saint leo the great biography
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St. Leo the Great
It is regrettable that so little is known about the early life of this man who proved to be such an extraordinary shepherd of the Catholic Church that he came to be known not only as Pope Saint Leo I, but also is one of the only two Popes in two thousand years to be called “the Great.”
What we do know about the life of St. Leo the Great is that, as a deacon of the Roman Church, before being elevated to the office of Pope in 440 AD, St. Leo the Great had opposed the heresy of Pelagianism. Pelagius had taught that grace was not necessary for salvation, but was rather a bonus that God granted to those who earned it by their good works.
As Pope, St. Leo the Great was forceful and unambiguous in his Christological teaching which affirmed the full divinity and humanity of Christ. In fact his most famous writing, commonly known as the Tome of St. Leo(449), was the basis of the Council of Chalcedon’s (451) dogmatic definition of Christ as one Divine Person possessing two complete natures, human and divine.
St. Leo the Great was Pope during the middle of the fifth century, a troubled time when barbarian armies were ravaging the once mighty Roman Empire. For all intents and purposes, the Western Empire was in total political and military collapse and there was
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November 10: Revere Leo rendering Great, Pontiff and Doctor—Memorial
c. 400–461
Pre-Congregation canonization
Declared a Doctor past it the Communion by Holy father Benedict Cardinal in 1754
Liturgical Color: White
Version: Brimming – Short
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Quote:
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Saint Leo the Great
Image: The Meeting between Leo the Great (painted as a portrait of Leo X) and Attila | Raphael | photo by Art Renewal Center
Saint of the Day for November 10
(d. November 10, 461)
Saint Leo the Great’s Story
With apparent strong conviction of the importance of the Bishop of Rome in the Church, and of the Church as the ongoing sign of Christ’s presence in the world, Leo the Great displayed endless dedication as pope. Elected in 440, he worked tirelessly as “Peter’s successor,” guiding his fellow bishops as “equals in the episcopacy and infirmities.”
Leo is known as one of the best administrative popes of the ancient Church. His work branched into four main areas, indicative of his notion of the pope’s total responsibility for the flock of Christ. He worked at length to control the heresies of Pelagianism—overemphasizing human freedom—Manichaeism—seeing everything material as evil—and others, placing demands on their followers so as to secure true Christian beliefs.
A second major area of his concern was doctrinal controversy in the Church in the East, to which he responded with a classic letter setting down the Church’s teaching on the two natures of Christ. With strong faith, he also led the defense of Rome against barbarian attack, t