St. Leo the Great was born in Tuscany. As a deacon, he was dispatched to Gaul as a mediator by Emperor Valentinian III. He reigned as Pope between 440 and 461. He persuaded Emperor Valentinian to recognize the primacy of the Bishop of Rome in an edict in 445. The doctrine of the Incarnation was confirmed by him in a letter to the Patriarch of Constantinople, who had already condemned Eutyches. At the Council of Chalcedon this same letter was confirmed as the expression of Catholic Faith concerning the Person of Christ.
All secular historical treatises eulogize his efforts during the upheaval of the 5th-century barbarian invasion. His encounter with Attila the Hun, at the very gates of Rome, persuading him to turn back, remains a historical memorial to
his great eloquence. When the Vandals under Genseric occupied the city of Rome he persuaded the invaders to desist from pillaging the city and harming its inhabitants. He died in 461, leaving many epistles and writings of great historical value.
PRAYER: O Eternal Shepherd, look favorably upon Thy flock, and guard it by Thy continual protection through Blessed Leo, Thy Supreme Pontiff, whom Thou hath made the chief shepherd of the whole Church. Amen.
Lives of the Saints, page 147
