Pope St Leo the Great

After reading today’s Gospel from Luke (17:7-10) in which Jesus talk with his disciples about service and duty, Fr Paul shares a little about Pope St Leo the Great, whose life we remember and celebrate today.

St Leo the Great was born in Etruria and he became pope in 440.

Pope St Leo the Great strenuously defended the unity of the Church. He repelled the invasions of the barbarians or he alleviated their effects. Leo famously persuaded Attila the Hun not to march on Rome in 452 and he prevented the invading vandals from massacring the people in 455.

Leo left many doctrinal and spiritual writings behind and he died in 461.

As we reflect on Leo’s life, we might also reflect that when we feel the odds are overwhelming in our lives we might turn to St Leo the Great to pray for us.