St. Gregory the Great

Pope Gregory I, commonly known as Saint Gregory the Great (born in 540), became Pope in 590 and was a vigilant guardian of the Church’s doctrine. He was the founder of numerous monasteries including a school for the training of church musicians. He collected the melodies and plain chant so associated with him that they are now known as Gregorian Chants. In his lifetime, he was a Monk, an abbot, a leader of Italy. Also, a momentous influence on the Catholic Church through doctrine, organization and discipline. Gregory of Tours tells us that in grammar, rhetoric and dialectic he was so skillful as to be thought second to none in all Rome. Gregory became a patron saint of England for sending St. Augustine of Canterbury on missions there. One of Gregory's greatest accomplishments were his writings Dialogues, a book on the Lives of the Saints. He was proclaimed a Doctor of the Church by Pope Boniface VIII in 1295.