Gregory the Great

Pope Gregory I, called “the Great,” led the Church from 590 to 604, through plague, war, and the collapse of Roman government in Italy. A former prefect of the city who had given up his wealth to become a monk, he governed as pope with a monk’s discipline and a statesman’s reach — feeding Rome, making terms with the Lombards, ordering the liturgy, and sending missionaries as far as England. His Pastoral Rule and his Moralia on Job guided the medieval Church for centuries, and he is counted one of the four great Latin Doctors.