Gregory I, Saint (540?-604), was elected pope in 590. Often called Gregory the Great, he was responsible for important reorganizations of almost all branches of the papal government. He also reformed the management of the many papal estates in Italy, Sicily, southern Gaul (now mainly France), and northern Africa. Gregory was anxious to protect the rights of the popes, and he defended his primacy (position of first importance) against the claims of the patriarch of Constantinople. Gregory wrote a book describing the qualities necessary to be an ideal bishop.
Gregory was born in Rome into an aristocratic family. Two of his ancestors, Saint Felix III and Saint Agapitus I, were popes. By 572 or 573, he had risen to become prefect (governor) of the city of Rome. About 574, he became a monk. He distributed his family’s great wealth and made his own home in Rome a monastery dedicated to Saint Andrew. He also founded six monasteries on family estates in Sicily. About 578, Pope Benedict I named him one of Rome’s seven regional deacons, an important papal administrative office. From about 579 to 585, Gregory was an ambassador to the Byzantine imperial court in Constantinople. He died in Rome on March 12, 604. Gregory left a body of writings, including over 850 letters.
