Ordinary Time: September 3rd
Memorial of St. Gregory the Great, Pope and Doctor of the Church
Other Titles: Gregory I; Gregory Dialogos; Father of the Fathers
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Entrance Antiphon:
Blessed Gregory, raised upon the throne of Peter, sought always the beauty of the Lord and lived in celebration of that love.
Communion Antiphon, Lk 12:42:
This is the steward, faithful and prudent, whom the Lord set over his household to give them their allowance of food at the proper time.
St. Gregory the Great (540-604), senator and prefect of Rome, then in succession monk, cardinal and pope, governed the Church from 590 to 604. England owes her conversion to him. At a period when the invasion of the barbarians created a new situation in Europe, he played a considerable part in the transitional stage, during which a great number of them were won for Christ. At the same time he watched over the holiness of the clergy and preserved ecclesiastical discipline, as well as attending to the temporal interests of his people of Rome and the spiritual interests of the whole of Christendom. To him the liturgy owes several of its finest prayers, and the name "Gregorian chant" recalls this great Pope's work in the development of the Church's chant. His commentaries on Holy Scripture exercised a considerable influence on Christian thought, particularly in the Middle Ages. Together with St. Ambrose, St. Augustine and St. Jerome, he is one of the four great Doctors of the Latin Church.
St. Gregory the GreatSt. Gregory was born at Rome in 540. He was successively senator and prefect of Rome before the age of 30. After five years he resigned and became a monk, transforming his own house into a Benedictine monastery, and founding six others. At the age of 50 he was elected pope, serving from 590 to 604. In 14 years he accomplished much for the Mystical Body of Christ.

- Read this article about Gregorian chant.
- Want to learn more about Gregorian chant? See:
- You may find the entire collection of St. Gregory's writings in the Catholic Culture Library.
- From the Catholic Culture Library:
- Study the history of missionaries in England
- The Origins of the Hymns of the Liturgy
- Papal Errors in the Ordinary Magisterium?
- Pope Pius X's encyclical, Iucunda Sane on Pope Gregory the Great.
- Study the history of missionaries in England
- Read The Life of St. Gregory from the Golden Legend.
- Got Gout? This malady seems to be on the rise now that our diets have such rich foods. But St. Gregory the Great is the saint to invoke for getting out the gout!
- See the list of churches in Rome and beyond that hold relics or significance for St. Gregory the Great.