Raphael painted the above fresco (1513-1514) and it resides in the Vatican Museum. It is the meeting of Pope Leo and Attila.

The first Leo is Pope Leo the Great. His feast day is November 10, marking his earthly death and birth into heaven.

Leo was a pope of firsts. The first to be named Leo, the first to be remembered as “the Great,” and the first pope to be buried at Saint Peter’s Basilica.

St Leo the Great (+ 461) became pope in 440. He was not able to attend the Council of Chalcedon in 451, yet he sent a letter defining Christ’s twofold nature. So eloquently written that they acclaimed: ‘Peter has spoken through Leo.’

Leo the Great met with Attila the Hun outside Rome the following year and saved the city from destruction. Unfortunately, Vandals sacked Rome in 455. Pope Leo was able to save his Cathedral Church, Saint John Lateran, and the Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul. Innocent people found refuge in these churches.

Ultimately what made him great was his pastoral care for ordinary people. He was a theologian with a pastoral heart. Pope Benedict XVI said,

Aware of the historical period in which he lived and of the change that was taking place – from pagan Rome to Christian Rome – in a period of profound crisis, Leo the Great knew how to make himself close to the people and the faithful with his pastoral action and his preaching.

Throughout his 21 years as pope, Leo the Great was able to bridge communication with the East and West and care for those in charge of his care. He understood the place of Peter in the Church. His primary role was to be pontifex, Latin for bridge builder.

Today, do we seek Christ with our whole hearts and serve him in the every day people we come in contact? Do we find Christ in the heart of the Church, in the heart of the people gathered in his name? This is the sign of greatness. Let us be magnums by serving others and being bridge builders.