St. Leo the Great

Their story

Leo was elected pope in 440, at a time when the Roman Empire in the West was collapsing and the Church faced serious confusion about who Jesus is. Leo was a clear thinker and a powerful preacher. In a famous letter known as the Tome of Leo, he explained that Jesus Christ is one person who is fully God and fully man. When his letter was read at the Council of Chalcedon in 451, the bishops are said to have exclaimed that Peter had spoken through Leo. Leo was also a brave shepherd. In 452, when Attila the Hun was advancing on Rome, Leo went out to meet him, and Attila turned back. A few years later, when the Vandals captured Rome, Leo persuaded their leader to spare the city from burning and massacre. Many of Leo’s sermons still survive and are read in the Liturgy of the Hours. In one Christmas sermon he urged Christians to recognize their dignity, since they share in God’s own nature. He died in 461 and is a Doctor of the Church, one of only a few popes called “the Great.”