The Life of St. Gregory

Pope Gregory I, also known as Saint Gregory the Great, was known for instituting the first recorded large-scale mission from Rome, the Gregorian mission, to convert the then largely pagan Anglo-Saxons to Christianity. Gregory is also well known for his writings, which were more prolific than those of any of his predecessors as pope. As a Roman senator's son, and serving as the prefect of Rome at 30, Gregory lived in a monastery he established on his family estate before becoming a papal ambassador and then assuming the office of pope. Although he was the first pope from a monastic background, his prior political experiences may have helped him to be a talented administrator. During his papacy, his administration greatly surpassed that of the emperors in improving the welfare of the people of Rome, and he challenged the theological views of Eutychius of Constantinople before the emperor Tiberius II. Gregory regained papal authority in Spain and France and sent missionaries to England, including Augustine of Canterbury and Paulinus of York. His life if retold here by the French Monk, Otto the Abbot, some five centuries after his death.