‹ The Popes
45th Roman Pontiff
St Leo I
"the Great"
45th Successor of St Peter · 440–461 · Rome · b. Etruria, Italy, Roman Empire
440
Elected
461
Reign ended
21 years
Length
5th
Century
The Life
Roman citizen. Feast day 10 November. Convinced Attila the Hun to turn back his invasion of Italy.
Convinced the Vandals to spare the lives of the citizenry of Rome during their sack of the city. Wrote the Tome, which was instrumental in the Council of Chalcedon (451) and in defining the hypostatic union. Also revered as a saint in Eastern Christianity, with a feast day of 18 February.
Portrait: Authors of Menologion of Basil II (circa 985 AC, Constantinople), Byzantine manuscript ill / Wikimedia Commons