Pope St. Gregory the Great (M 067)

On 3 September 590, a fiftyish Benedictine monk was elected 64th Pope by unanimous acclamation. He was to become known as Pope St. Gregory the Great (c. 540-12 March 604). Here, St. Gregory is shown wearing formal papal regalia—a gold triple crown tiara, an elaborate pectoral cross, and a purplish pink ‘mantum’ or long cope with a gold-coloured lining over a white, floor-length linen tunic or alb. In his white-gloved hands, he holds pen and scroll. A white dove representing the Holy Spirit whispers in his ear, divinely inspiring his writings. The scene takes place in an alcove under a slightly pointed stone arch and against a green and gold brocade curtain suspended from a rod. The whole is meant to recall what was seen by his secretary St. Philip the Deacon, who peeked behind just such a curtain when St. Gregory repeatedly paused at length while giving dictation. The artwork does not represent the incident per se; rather, it compresses several ideas at once—the grandeur of the Medieval papacy, St. Gregory’s importance as writer—he is one of the Four Great Doctors of the Latin Church, and his miraculous inspiration. + Pope St. Gregory is patron saint of teachers and students, and musicians and singers (but that’s another story!). + Feast: September 3 + Image Credit (M 067): Antique image of Pope St. Gregory the Great from a devotional print in chromolithography commemorating the 1300th anniversary of his accession to the papacy, originally published by Nákl. Karla Šimka, Č[eské] Budějovice, (now the) Czech Republic, 1890, from the designer’s private collection of religious ephemera.