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64th Roman Pontiff
St Gregory I
"the Great"
Gregorius
64th Successor of St Peter · 590–604 · Rome · b. Rome, Eastern Roman Empire
590
Elected
604
Reign ended
14 years
Length
6th
Century
The Life
Subject of the (Ostrogothic) Kingdom of Italy, later a (Eastern) Roman citizen. Was of Roman ethnicity. Feast day 3 September. Great-great-grandson of Felix III. First pope to employ the titles Pontifex Maximus and Servus servorum Dei formally.
Established the Gregorian chant. Also revered as a saint in Eastern Christianity, with a feast day of 12 March. Known as "the Father of Christian Worship". Known as "St. Gregory the Dialogist" in Eastern Orthodoxy.
Portrait: British Library / Wikimedia Commons