St. Gregory VII

Our Easter Calendar has already given us the two great Popes, Leo the Great and Pius the Fifth; it bids us, today, pay honour to the glorious memory of Gregory the Seventh. These three names represent the action of the Papacy, dating from the period of the Persecutions. The mission divinely put upon the successors of St. Peter, is this: the maintaining intact the truths of Faith, and the defending the Liberty of the Church. St. Leo courageously and eloquently asserted the ancient Faith, which was called in question by the heretics of those days; St. Pius the Fifth stemmed the torrent of the so-called Reformation, and delivered Christendom from the yoke of Mahometanism; St. Gregory the Seventh came between these two, and saved society from the greatest danger it had so far incurred, and restored the purity of Christian morals by restoring the Liberty of the Church.

The end of the 10th, and the commencement of the 11th, Century, was a period that brought upon the Church of Christ one of the severest trials she has ever endured. The two great scourges of Persecution and Heresy had subsided; they were followed by that of Barbarism. The impulse given to civilization by Charlemagne was checked early in the 9th Century; the Barbarian element had been but suppressed, and broke out again with renewed violence. Faith was still vigorous among the people, but, of itself, it could not triumph over the depravity of morals. The Feudal system had produced anarchy throughout the whole of Europe; anarchy created social disorder, and this, in its turn, occasioned the triumph of might and licentiousness over right. Kings and Princes were no longer kept in check by the power of the Church; for, Rome herself being a prey to factions, unworthy or unfit men were but too frequently raised to the Papal Throne.

The 11th Century came; its years were rapidly advancing; and there seemed no remedy for the disorders it had inherited. Bishoprics had fallen a prey to the secular power, which set them up for sale and the first requisite for a candidate to a Prelacy was, that he should be a vassal subservient to the Ruler of the nation, ready to supply him with means for prosecuting war. The Bishops being thus, for the most part, simoniacal, as St. Peter Damian tells us they were, what could be expected from the inferior Clergy, but scandals? The climax of these miseries was, that ignorance increased with each generation, and threatened to obliterate the very notion of duty. There was an end to both Church and society, had it not been for the promise of Christ, that he would never abandon His own Work.

In order to remedy these evils, in order to dispel all this mist of ignorance, Rome was to be raised from her state of degradation. She needed a holy and energetic Pontiff, whose consciousness of having God on his side would make him heedless of opposition and difficulties; a Pontiff, whose reign should be long enough to make his influences felt, and encourage his successors to continue the work of reform. This was the mission of St. Gregory the Seventh. (from 'The Liturgical Year' by the Abbot Gueranger)


Gregory VII, one of the greatest of the Roman Pontiffs and one of the most remarkable men of all times, was known as Hildebrand before he became Pope. Born in Tuscany in 1020, he was sent to Rome to be educated under his uncle, who was Abbot of Saint Mary's monastery on the Aventine Hill. It was a time of great danger for the Church, when the Emperors of Germany were claiming it was their role to elect the successors of Saint Peter, the Vicars of Jesus Christ. They sold ecclesiastic dignities at auction or gave them to unworthy favorites, and many sees were occupied by persons who had obtained them with gold. It was this humble monk who had embraced the Benedictine Rule at the famous monastery of Cluny in France, who was chosen to bring a remedy to the current evils. The three great abuses, simony, concubinage, and the custom of receiving investiture from lay hands, seemed to threaten the very foundations of the Church. This great servant of God would never cease to oppose those corruptions of the reign of Christ.

Hildebrand was admired by the bishops of France when for a time he was at the Court of the Emperor Henry III. He returned to Rome with the bishop of Toul, who had been chosen Pope by the Emperor Henry III, and who invited him to accompany him. The young monk reproached him for having received from his relative a favor which should be granted only by the clergy and people of Rome; but when the bishop ceded to his arguments, he said he would accompany him if he would have his election ratified there. This was carried out, and Hildebrand became the right arm of the good Pope Leo IX. He was made a cardinal and named Superior of the Roman monastery of Saint Paul-Outside-the-Walls, which lay almost in ruins because the major part of its revenues had been usurped by powerful laymen. Hildebrand succeeded in recovering its lands and restored the monastery to its ancient splendor.

When Leo IX died, the clergy and people of Rome sent Hildebrand at the head of a delegation to the Emperor, with full power to elect a Sovereign Pontiff. It was he who chose Pope Victor II, against the Emperor's wishes, and again he became the right arm of the Pope in the combat against abuses. Pope Victor II sent him as legate to France, to stop the practice of simony in the collation of ecclesiastical benefices. He served as Archdeacon under three more Popes, Stephen II, Nicholas II and Alexander II. Upon the death of the last-named in 1073, he was compelled to fill the vacancy.

Pope Gregory VII immediately called upon the clergy throughout the world to lay down their lives rather than betray the laws of God to the will of princes. Rome was in rebellion due to the ambition of the Cenci, a family of Rome whose history is a series of acts of violence and crimes. Pope Gregory excommunicated them. As a consequence they laid hands on him during the Christmas midnight Mass, wounded him and cast him into prison; the following day the people rescued him. He then was forced to face Henry IV, Emperor of Germany, who openly relapsed into simony and claimed to depose the Pope. The Emperor too was excommunicated. The people turned against Henry and he sought absolution of Gregory at Canossa, but he regrettably did not persevere; he set up an antipope and besieged Gregory in the castle of Saint Angelo in Rome. The aged Pontiff was obliged to flee.


He wrote this admirable Letter, in the year 1084. It is addressed to all the Faithful, and may be considered as the last Will and Testament of this glorious Pontiff.

"The kings of the earth and the princes of the priests have met together against Christ (Ps. ii. 2), the Son of the Almighty God, and against his Apostle Peter, to the end that they may destroy the Christian Religion and propagate the wickedness of heresy in every land. But, by the mercy of God, they have not been able, with all their threats, and cruelties, and proffers of worldly glory, to seduce those that put their confidence in the Lord. Wicked conspirators have raised up their hands against us, for no other reason than because we would not pass over in silence the perils of holy Church, nor tolerate them that blush not to make a slave of the very Spouse of God. In every country the poorest woman is allowed, yea, she is assisted by the law of the land, to choose her own husband; and yet, now-a-days, holy Church, the Spouse of God and our Mother, is not allowed to be united to her Spouse, as the Divine Law commands, and as she herself wishes. It cannot be that we should suffer the children of this Church to be slaves to heretics, adulterers, and tyrants, as though these were their parents. Hence we have had to endure all manner of evil treatment, perils, and unheard-of cruelties, as you will learn from our Legates.

"You know, Brethren, that it was said to the Prophet: Cry from the top of the mountain, cry, cease not! I, then, urged irresistibly, laying human respect aside, and raising my mind above every earthly consideration, I preach the Gospel, I cry out, yea, I cry out unceasingly, and I make known to you, that the Christian Religion, the true Faith which the Son of God, Who came down on the earth, has taught us by our Fathers, is in danger of being corrupted by the violence of secular power; that it is on the way to destruction, and to the loss of its primitive character, being thus exposed to be scoffed at, not only by Satan, but by Jews, and Turks, and Pagans. The very Pagans are observers of their laws, though these cannot profit the soul's salvation, neither have they been guaranteed by miracles, as ours have been, to which our Eternal King has borne testimony; they keep their laws, and believe them. We Christians, intoxicated with the love of the world, and led astray by vain ambition, we make every principle of religion and justice give way to covetousness and pride; we seem as though we had neither law nor sense, for we have not the earnestness our Fathers had for our salvation, and for the glory of both the present and future life; we do not even make them the object of our hopes. If there be some still left who fear God, they only care for their own salvation, and the common good seems not to concern them. Where do we now find persons who labour and toil, or expose their lives by fatigue, out of the motive of the fear or love of the Omnipotent God? whereas we see soldiers of this world's armies braving all manner of dangers for their masters, their friends, and even their subjects! There are thousands of men to be found who face death for the sake of their liege lord; but when the King of heaven, our Redeemer, is in question, so far from being lavish of their lives, Christians dare not even incur the displeasure of a few scoffers. If there be some, (and, thanks to the mercy of God, there are still a few such, left among us,) if, we repeat, there be some, who, for the love of the Christian Law, dare to resist the wicked to their face, not only are they unsupported by their Brethren, but they are accused of imprudence and indiscretion, and are treated as fools.

"We, therefore, who are bound, by our position, to destroy vice and implant virtue in the hearts of our Brethren, we pray and beseech you, in the Lord Jesus Who redeemed us, that you would consider within yourselves, and understand why it is that we have to suffer such anguish and tribulation from the enemies of the Christian Religion. From the day, when, by the Divine will, the Mother Church, despite my great unworthiness, and (as God is my witness) despite my own wish, placed me on the Apostolic Throne, the one object of all my labours has been that the Spouse of God, our Mistress and Mother, should recover her just rights, in order that she may be free, chaste, and Catholic. But such a line of conduct must have caused extreme displeasure to the old enemy; and therefore it is, that he has marshaled against us them that are his members, and has stirred up against us a world-wide opposition. Hence it is that there have been used against us, and against the Apostolic See, efforts of a more violent character than any that have ever been attempted since the days of Constantine the Great. But there is nothing surprising in all this: it is but natural, that the nearer we approach to the time of Antichrist, the more furious will be the attempts to annihilate the Christian Religion (1084. Jaffe. Page 572)."


Opinion is unanimous that no Pontiff since the time of the Apostles undertook more labors for the Church or fought more courageously for her independence. While he was saying Mass, a dove was seen to come down on him; the Holy Spirit thus bore witness to the supernatural views which guided him in the government of the Church. Forced to leave Rome, he withdrew to Monte Cassino, and later to the castle of Salerno, where he died in 1085.



Prayer to St. Gregory VII


O intrepid defender of the liberty of the Church, illustrious S. Gregory, by that firmness which thou didst manifest, in maintaining her rights against the powers of earth and hell combined against her, stretch forth from heaven, we pray thee, thy powerful arm over her, to comfort and defend her in the fierce warfare which she is today waging. Especially encourage, in the great struggle, the venerated Pontiff who, with thy See, has also inherited the intrepidity of thy heart. Obtain for him that he may see his holy efforts crowned with the triumph of the Church and by the return of the wandering to the right path. Obtain finally that all the world may at last understand that it is vain to struggle against that faith which always has and always will overcome the world--haec est victoria qua vincit mundum fides nostra. Such is the prayer which we pour forth to thee, and we trust that, having answered it in this world, thou wilt one day call us with thee to heaven, near the eternal Pontiff, who with the Father and the Holy Ghost lives and reigns for ever and ever. Amen.


(An Indulgence Of Three Hundred Days,
once a day--Pius IX, 1873)


Maybe we'll get fortunate to get a Holy Father some day. That is, someone who actually has the Faith, and is NOT afraid to show it, whatever needs to be done.