Gregory the Great

Gregory the Great (c. 540–604), pope from 590, was a tireless pastor and reformer who shaped the medieval church’s worship, mission, and spirituality. His Morals on the Book of Job, Pastoral Rule, and Gospel homilies were read throughout the Middle Ages. A Doctor of the Church.

Gregory translated the church's exegetical inheritance into pastoral wisdom. His Morals on the Book of Job mines that book for moral and spiritual instruction at vast length, and his Pastoral Rule taught generations of bishops how to apply Scripture to the varied conditions of their people. The last of the traditional Latin Doctors, he stands at the threshold between the patristic and medieval worlds and was read throughout the Middle Ages.