Michael Andrews explains why Saint Leo the Great is Great

Pope Saint Leo the Great stands as one of only two popes in the entire history of the Church named a Doctor of the Church, sharing that rare distinction with Saint Gregory the Great, according to a November 10 essay by Michael Andrews, Chancellor of the Diocese of Lansing.

Among his theological works, his most important contribution is the Tome of Leo. In AD 451, the Council of Chalcedon gathered over five hundred bishops to evaluate numerous theological writings and combat the teachings of the heretic Eutyches and the Monophysites, who claimed Christ’s human nature was absorbed into his divine nature.

The bishops found the Tome of Leo to be the clearest and most faithful expression of Christian teaching. It affirmed that Jesus Christ is true God and true man, possessing two distinct natures—human and divine—unmixed, unconfused, and united in one divine person.

“This is the faith of the fathers! This is the faith of the Apostles! What Leo believes, we all believe! Anathema to him who believes anything else! Peter has spoken through the mouth of Leo!” the bishops affirmed in one voice.

The calling of saints peter and andrew by michelangelo caravaggio michelangelo caravaggio

Beyond theology, Leo earned historical renown for confronting external threats to Rome. When Attila the Hun ravaged Europe and invaded Italy in 452, earning the moniker “the scourge of God,” all of Italy turned to Leo, who traveled to meet him.

It is said that Attila had a vision of Saints Peter and Paul standing with swords in hand, threatening him if he destroyed Rome—a scene later immortalized by Raphael. Three years later, Leo also persuaded the Vandal leader Genseric to spare Rome from fire and slaughter.

Remembered as the “Doctor of the Unity of the Church,” Pope Saint Leo the Great now rests beneath an altar dedicated to his memory in Saint Peter’s Basilica. Above that altar sits a magnificent high relief marble sculpture depicting his meeting with Attila, complete with Saints Peter and Paul appearing in the heavens.

Michael Andrews explains why Saint Leo the Great is Great

Of his nearly 100 surviving sermons and 130 letters, his Christmas sermon offers a timeless exhortation:

“Christian, recognize your dignity and, now that you share in God’s own nature, do not return to your former base condition by sinning. Remember who is your head and of whose body you are a member. Never forget that you have been rescued from the power of darkness and brought into the light of the Kingdom of God.”