CrucisPope St. Leo the Great
Pope St. Leo the Great was born around the year 400, likely in Tuscany, and died on 10 November 461 at Rome. Elected pope in 440, he governed the Church through the turbulent final decades of the Western Roman Empire with exceptional strength, clarity, and pastoral care, doing much to establish the authority and responsibility of the See of Peter.
His most enduring theological contribution is the Tome of Leo, a letter setting forth with great precision that Christ is one person in two natures, truly God and truly man. It was acclaimed at the Council of Chalcedon in 451 with the cry, 'Peter has spoken through Leo,' and remains a cornerstone of Catholic Christology. In 452 he famously went out to meet Attila the Hun and persuaded him to spare the city of Rome, and later interceded when the Vandals sacked it. One of only a few popes called 'the Great,' he is honored as a Doctor of the Church, with his feast on 10 November.
Selected quotes
“Charity is the greatest of the virtues because it is the virtue by which we most closely resemble the God who is Love Himself.”
“The Word took flesh so that flesh might receive the Word; every time you receive the Eucharist, this great exchange is renewed and made more deeply your own.”
“The unity of the Church is not a human achievement but a divine gift; pray for it, labor for it, and above all do not fracture it through pride or self-will.”