Roman Catholics commemorate Sunday, Sept. 3, the feast day of Saint Gregory the Great (San Gregorio Magno), one of the greatest pontiffs of the Catholic faith and one of only two popes in Church history, aside from Saint Leo the Great, who was given the title “the great.”
 

Pope Saint Gregory the Great (Photo courtesy of Catholic Online)

In the country, commemorative masses in his honor will be held in parishes placed under his patronage in Legazpi City, Albay; Majayjay, Laguna; and in Ginatilan, Cebu.

At the St. Gregory the Great Parish in Indang, Cavite, holy masses will be celebrated at 6 a.m., 7:30 a.m., 9 a.m., and at 5 p.m. to be followed by a solemn procession.

Imus Bishop Reynaldo G. Evangelista presided over a concelebrated mass on Sept. 1 at 9:30 a.m. A karakol procession of the images of San Gregorio Magno and Our Lady of del Pillar followed by a mass was held on Sept. 2.

In Rome, Italy, Eucharistic celebrations that will include the Gregorian Chant, which St. Gregory introduced in the liturgy, will be held at the St. Peter’s Basilica, where he was buried.

Elected pope in the year 590, St. Gregory had the most influence on the early medieval Church. He introduced the Catholic tradition of the 30 Gregorian masses, a pious practice observed to this day, which involves a series of 30 masses held for 30 consecutive days for the eternal repose of the soul of a departed person.

Born in 540 in Rome, the Church considers St. Gregory as “a saint among saints.” His mother, Silvia, and two aunts, Tarsilla and Emiliana, were all canonized by the Church.

He died in 604 and was immediately canonized by popular acclaim. He was also declared a Doctor of the Universal Church.