Saint Leo I the Great, Pope, Confessor & Doctor
S. Leonis I Papae Confessoris et Ecclesiae Doctoris
Saint Leo the Great, Pope and Doctor of the Church, governed the Roman Church through years of upheaval with a firmness and clarity that earned him his title. He defended the integrity of the Faith concerning the Person of Christ and, by his courage, is remembered as a protector of the city of Rome. He died in the year 461.
Saint Leo the Great is one of only a small number of Popes to whom the Church has given the surname “the Great,” and one of three Roman Pontiffs honoured among her Doctors. Of his early life little is recorded with certainty; he was a Roman, or of Tuscan descent, and had already served the Roman Church as a deacon of weight and influence when, in the year 440, he was chosen to the See of Peter. For some twenty-one years he governed the Church in a time of grave trial, both from error within and from invasion without, and through it all he laboured to keep the flock entrusted to him steadfast in the Faith.
Guardian of the Faith
The age of Saint Leo was troubled by controversies touching the very mystery of the Incarnation. To the Council of Chalcedon, gathered in the year 451, Leo sent his celebrated letter, known as the Tome of Saint Leo, setting forth with luminous clarity the Catholic faith that in the one Person of Christ are united, whole and unconfused, the divine and the human natures. When his letter was read, the assembled Fathers are said to have acclaimed, “Peter has spoken through Leo.” His many surviving sermons and letters breathe the same care for sound doctrine and for the souls of the faithful, and they remain a treasure of the Church to this day.
Shepherd and protector of his people
Saint Leo’s greatness was shown not only in word but in deed. When Attila and his army turned toward Rome in the year 452, Leo went out to meet him and, by a meeting long remembered, prevailed upon the conqueror to spare the city and withdraw. A few years later, when the Vandals under Genseric did enter Rome, the Pope’s intercession is credited with sparing the people from slaughter and the city from burning. In these acts the faithful have ever beheld the image of a true shepherd, who stands between the flock and the wolf. Worn at last by his labours, Leo died on the tenth of November, 461, and was buried at Saint Peter’s, where his relics are venerated still.
The Collect
O eternal Shepherd, look forgivingly upon Thy flock, and keep it in Thy constant protection through the intercession of blessed Leo, Thy Sovereign Pontiff, whom Thou didst constitute shepherd of the whole Church. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, Thy Son, who liveth and reigneth with Thee in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end. Amen.
Gregem tuum, Pastor ætérne, placátus inténde: et, per beátum Leónem Summum Pontíficem, perpétua protectióne custódi; quem totíus Ecclésiæ præstitísti esse pastórem. Per Dóminum nostrum Iesum Christum Fílium tuum, qui tecum vivit et regnat in unitáte Spíritus Sancti Deus, per ómnia sǽcula sæculórum. Amen.
Patronage
Saint Leo the Great is venerated as a Doctor of the Church and is honoured among the patrons of cantors and singers.
In the Modern Calendar
In the modern calendar, this feast is observed on 10 November, near the day of his death.
Common Questions
When is the feast of Saint Leo the Great?
In the 1962 Roman Missal his feast is kept on 11 April as a Third-Class feast. In the modern calendar it is observed on 10 November, near the anniversary of his death.
Why is Saint Leo called “the Great”?
He is so named for the strength and wisdom of his governance of the Church, his clear defence of the Faith concerning the Person of Christ at the Council of Chalcedon, and his courage in protecting Rome and its people in a time of invasion.
What is the Tome of Saint Leo?
It is the letter Saint Leo sent to the Council of Chalcedon in 451, setting forth the Catholic teaching that the one Person of Christ is true God and true man, the two natures united without confusion. The Fathers of the Council received it as an authoritative expression of the Faith.
See where this feast falls in the Church’s year on the liturgical calendar, or find a Traditional Latin Mass near you.
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