In the newer Roman calendar this is the feast of Pope Saint Leo I, “the Great” (+461). In the older, traditional calendar, his feast is 11 April.
You could perhaps pray to St. Leo that he will intercede with God to ask strength and courage for his successor in this difficult time. Oremus pro pontifice!
I have quite a few PODCAzTs dealing with him and his texts. I notice that all of them are from some time ago.
061 08-05-17 Pope Leo I on a post-Pentecost weekday; Fr. Z rambles not quite aimlessly for a while
059 08-05-15 Leo the Great on Pentecost fasting; Benedict XVI’s sermon for Pentecost Sunday
053 08-03-31 Annunciation – St. Leo the Great; some voicemail Q&A
050 08-02-22 St. Leo the Great on Peter; Fr. Lang on the Cathedra of Peter
049 08-01-06 Leo the Great on Epiphany; Lefebvre compared to Athanasius; feedback
029 07-05-18 Leo’s mind blowing Ascension sermon; angels
027 07-05-16 Leo on the Ascension; a Collect; feedback
021 07-04-22 Leo the Great on Peter – Msgr. Schuler
020 07-04-19 Leo the Great and Benedict – Habemus Papam!
010 07-03-25 Leo the Great’s Letter 28 “ad Flavianum” – veiling statues – a “Tridentine” church in Rome
009 07-03-22 Leo on the Passion; Sobrino; confessions on Good Friday
008 07-03-20 Leo the Great on works of mercy in Lent
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This was on my Saint Quote of the Day for today:
Christian, recognize your dignity and, now that you share in God’s own nature, do not return to your former base condition by sinning. Remember who is your head and of whose body you are a member. Never forget that you have been rescued from the power of darkness and brought into the light of the Kingdom of God.
— Pope Saint Leo the Great from a Sermon
Pope Leo also saved Rome on two different occasions. The first was during the invasion of Attila the Hun. Leo went out to meet Attila to try to convince Attila to pass by Rome. While Leo spoke, Attila had a vision of a man in “priestly robes” baring a sword and threatening to kill Attila if he tried invading Rome. Apparently it shook ol’ Attila up enough that he left Rome alone. Since Leo had a great devotion to Saint Peter, many believe it was the first Poep whom Attila saw in the vision.
When Genseric and the Vandals invaded Rome, Leo’s eloquence and sanctity saved Rome yet again.
Can you tell I really like Pope Saint Leo?
I told the story of Pope St. Leo the GREAT tonight to the children in the Religious Education Program! We need examples of heroic saints for our children and he is an amazing one!
The links do not work. For example:
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The requested URL /2008/05/podcazt-61-pope-leo-i-on-a-post-pentecost-weekday-fr-z-rambles-not-quite-aimlessly-for-a-while was not found on this server.
Hmm, as soon as I post the comment about the links, they start to work. No arguments about divine intervention, please.
St. Leo the Great’s feast day is also the anniversary of my baptism.
I saw Pope St. Leo the Great’s tomb at St. Peter’s-it’s ‘way in the back of the Basilica.
What I really liked was the sculpture above the altar of his meeting with Attila the Hun, and the figures of Sts. Peter and Paul swooping down from the heavens brandishing swords! They were saying, ‘Attila, you get OUTTA HERE!’ And the terrified look on his face as he gazed up at the two patrons of Rome barreling down on him….priceless!
Pope St. Leo, please pray for our present Holy Father, our Papa Benedict! Help him to have the same courage you showed, in the face of today’s enemies of the Church!