Saints and Holy People

Find out about their lives and how they changed the world

Pope Saint Leo the Great (Leo I) (c. 400-461)

Pope Saint Leo the Great (Leo I) (c. 400-461)

Feast day: November 10




Saint Leo was a pope who lived in the early centuries of the Church. Elected in 440, he was a talented administrator who was equally gifted at spiritual leadership. He was the first Pope to claim to be Peter’s heir and to have supreme authority over all the Church.

He also strongly defended the teaching that Jesus was both fully human and fully divine against a heresy that taught that Jesus was only divine. He even courageously met with Attila the Hun and convinced him not to ransack the city of Rome. Leo understood the everyday needs of the people and was famous for his preaching. (From Take Ten: Daily Bible Reflections for Teens [Saint Mary’s Press]) 

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