Pope St. Gregory the Great

Patron Saint of Teachers and Church Music

In 590 Pope Pelagius died of a plague that had swept through Rome. Gregory was unanimously elected pope in the same year, but continued to live with monastic simplicity.

As pope, Gregory sought peace with the invading Lombards. For nine years he strived for a settlement between the Byzantine Emperor and king of the Lombards, Agilulf, but was eventually forced to negotiate a separate treaty for the safety of Rome and the surrounding districts.

A generous and kind man, Gregory strove to ease the sufferings of the poor, feeding them on a regular basis. He converted many Jews in Rome using an uncommon method: instead of coercion, he declared that they were to be converted by meekness and charity and did not allow them to be oppressed or deprived of their synagogue. Using the same method, he converted many in England.

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