Tamer of the Huns

My boys love to hear the stories of Pope Leo the Great because he stood before Attila the Hun without fear.  That is not all he stood up to without fear!

Pope Saint Leo the Great

Feast Day: November 10
Born ??
Death: 461
Tuscany, Italy


Little is known of Leo's early years.  His story begins when he was first given his role of leading the people in his adult life.  As a deacon of the Roman Church, Leo was sent to Gaul to negotiate for the emperor.

Before Leo was elevated to the office of Pope in 440 AD, he also fought the forces within the Church.  He had opposed the heresy of Pelagianism which taught that grace was not necessary for salvation, but was rather a bonus that God granted to those who earned it by their good works.  As pope, Leo would later write about the idea of the Incarnation to clarify this issue further.

Pope Leo contributed to the development of the doctrine on papal primacy, based on his personal devotion to St Peter and on the veneration for the Apostle and his tomb in Rome.  Pope Leo also describes his own special relationship with St Peter in terms derived from Roman law. He calls himself the (unworthy) heir and deputy (vicarius) of Peter, having received his apostolic authority and being obliged to follow his example.

Pope Leo appealed to the emperor for support to his claim, and obtained a decree in 445, which recognized the primacy of the bishop of Rome based on the merits of Peter, the dignity of the city, and the legislation of the First Council of Nicaea.  The emperor provided for the forcible extradition by provincial governors of any bishop who refused to answer a summons to Rome.

There were many through Christiandom who did not approve of Pope Leo's assertion for primacy.  However, from the beginning of his pontificate in 440, his goal was to unite the Church.  His most famous writing, commonly known as the Tome of St. Leo (449), was the basis of the Council of Chalcedon's (451) dogmatic definition of Christ as one Divine Person possessing two complete natures, human and divine.  It was upon hearing Pope Leo's discourse on this topic, that brought the leaders of the Church to support him in his role as pope.  They called out to the assembly, "This is the faith of the fathers ... Peter has spoken thus through Leo ..."

While Pope Leo was battling to bring order to the Church, Barbarian armies were ravaging the once mighty Roman Empire. While other officials were leaving the area for safety, Pope St. Leo filled the void and became the advocate for the temporal as well as spiritual needs of his flock.  He is perhaps most famous for persuading Attila the Hun to abandon his plans to sack the city of Rome and to withdraw his forces beyond the Danube river (452).

Unfortunately, Pope Leo's intercession could not prevent the full onslaught of the city by the Vandals in 455, but murder and arson were repressed by his influence. Leo did, however, assist in rebuilding the city of Rome; restoring key places such as Saint Peter's.

Leo died in 461 leaving behind a treasury of  over 143 letters and 96 sermons.  His sermons cover every season of the liturgical year and are still helpful to this day in understanding the teachings of he Church.  He wished to be buried as close as possible to the tomb of St Peter, his body was placed in a tomb in the portico of Saint Peter's basilica on 10 November of that year and in 688 was moved inside the basilica itself.

Pope Saint Leo the Great, pray for us!