St. Gregory The Great Medal and Necklace

Sterling Silver St. Gregory The Great Medal and Necklace

14KT Gold Filled St. Gregory The Great Medal and Necklace

14KT Gold St Gregory The Great Medal

St. Gregory The Great

St. Gregory, one of the greatest Popes to fill the Chair of Peter, was a Roman of noble birth. By steady application of God-given powers he gained for himself the reputation of being one of the greatest scholars of his day. Upon the death of his father Gordianus, a wealthy patrician, Gregory distributed his inheritance among the poor and converted his families’ manion into a monastery.

Service to the Church

For several years Gregory lived as an ideal Monk; looked upon by all as a man of deepest spirituality. Pope Benedict I died in 579 and was succeeded by Pelagius II. This Pontiff compelled Gregory, by obedience, to take upon himself the sacred order of Deacon and the dignity of Cardinal, employing him as secretary. The period was one of acute crisis, as the Lombards were advancing towards Rome. The only chance of safety seemed to be in obtaining help from Emperor Tiberius at Constantinople.

In the spring of 579 Pope Pelagius dispatched a special embassy to Tiberius, and sent Gregory as his permanent ambassador to the Court of Constantinople; where he remained for seven years. In 586 Gregory was recalled to Rome. With great joy he returned to a humble life of ministry at St. Andrews Church, of which he became Abbot soon thereafter.

The Papal Election

At the death of Pope Pelagius in 590, Gregory, after vainly trying by flight to avoid the dignity, was elected Pope. The fourteen years of his Pontificate, despite ill health, were an outstanding model of ecclesiastical rule. He reformed Church discipline; healed schisms; saved Italy by converting the Arian Lombards, who were laying waste the country; aided in the conversion of the Spanish and French Arian Goths; was a champion and protector of the Jews, and sent St. Augustine with his forty monks as the first missionaries to the Anglo-Saxons, thereby earning for himself the title of Apostle of England. His Letters, Homilies, Biblical Explanations and Ascetical Works comprise multiple volumes.

The last years of St. Gregory’s life were filled with acutest sufferings, yet he would not allow his zeal for the Church to become dim. At last, on March 12, 604, came the long-desired and long-prayed for summons to Heaven. The Church venerates him as one of her four great Doctors of the West, and gave him the title of Gregory the Great. Wearing this St. Gregory the Great medal is a call of intercession for this great Pope to join us in our prayers.

St. Gregory the Great Rosary
UPC: 617759603798
Brand: Bliss