What Is Pope St Gregory's Legacy

Born to an affluent patrician around 540, the boy who would become Pope Saint Gregory the Great lived a youthful life of calm and worry-free days, despite the fact that he was born surrounded by famine, war, and uncertainty. While there are no official records of his education, there is no doubt that as a boy he enjoyed as many educational opportunities than his peers and was believed to be one of the smartest men in Rome. While it has never been documented, it is also believed that he had some type of legal education. His legacy, however, would center on his love of music. In fact, Pope St. Gregory the Great is known as the patron of singers and musicians and this passion left what is known as the Gregorian Chants.
It would have been a reasonable expectation that Gregory would go into some type of public office; perhaps even a political career. Instead, he opted to follow his faith. Around 573, he would have been around the age of 30. He
One aspect of this was his expansion of the power of religious orders. Gregory gave them some independence from local church officials, making them answer almost entirely to the pope. He refused to allow deacons to perform any musical numbers unless they were gospel in nature and were plain or simple chants. Known as Gregorian Chants, the young Pope wanted to have a more uniform and predictable body of music to be used by the Church. He became known for his love of music. Interestingly, some began to prefer the chants over traditional rites. Among those was Charlemagne and his father Pepin. Pope Adrian I also appreciated the Gregorian Chants. Because the images of Pope Gregory I included a dove, many believed the bird was none other than the Holy Spirit passing on the divine chants to the