He was the first monk in the history of Christianity to become a pope in AD 590. Best known for the Gregorian mission, the first large-scale mission.
At that time, the Anglo-Saxon (present-day England) was predominantly pagan.
The Roman Empire had earlier controlled Britannia, bringing with it the Christian faith. But after it withdrew its legions in AD 410, pagan Germanic tribes from continental Europe started to migrate to the island and eventually controlled Kent.
Centuries after the Roman Empire's pull out, Gregory dispatched missionaries to Kent, an early medieval kingdom (presently Southeast England), in AD 956 to convert Ethelberht, King of Kent, whose wife, Bertha, was a Frankish and practicing Christian.
Headed by Augustine, another monk who would become the first archbishop of Canterbury, the 40 missionaries arrived in Kent in AD 957 and were allowed by King Ethelberht to do evangelization works.
The missionaries conducted work in areas formerly settled by the Romans.
King Ethelberht himself was converted.
Augustine successfully converted many of the king’s subjects. He baptized thousands in AD 597.
In AD 601, Gregory sent another group of missionaries from Rome to Anglo-Saxon.
When King Ethelberht died in AD 616, new bishoprics had already been established. A bishopric was a district under the oversight of a bishop.
Augustine's success made him the first Archbishop of Canterbury.
The king's support was instrumental in the Christianization of Kent. The king provided land for the church as well as protection. He even enforced new laws to protect church property.
But the king's death prompted a backlash by the pagans, forcing the bishopric of London to leave.
Ethelburg, daughter of the king, married Edwin, king of the Northumbria, an early medieval Anglo-Saxon kingdom (presently Northern England and southeast Scotland).
Edwin and Northumbrians were converted by Paulinus, the bishop who accompanied Ethelburg to the north. After Edwin died in AD 633, Ethelburg and Paulinus returned to Kent.
The last of the Gregorian missionaries died in 653 - at this time, the mission had already established Christianity in Kent and the areas around it.
When Augustine died in AD 604, other missionaries continued the Christianization of Anglo-Saxon.
The death of Arwald, the last pagan king, in the 7th century paved the way for the Christian faith to further spread.
The success of the mission in Anglo-Saxon would later be challenged by the coming of the Vikings: the seafaring pagans from Scandinavia.
Bede (also known as Venerable Bede), an English monk, author, and scholar, had written that Gregory was enthused to convert Anglo-Saxon after he saw Anglo-Saxon slaves from Britain in the Roman slave market.
Gregory also invited kings and bishops to convert non-Christians in their domains. He also called for missionary work to convert the heretics, like the Arians.
The Arians believed Christ is not divine, but a natural being.
Arianism was founded by Alexandrian presbyter Arius in the 4th century. It was declared heretical by the Council of Nicaea in AD 325.
Gregory was born in Rome in AD 540. At the time, Rome was conquered anew by the Roman Empire from the Ostrogoths (Germanic people). His parents were wealthy. His father was a Roman senator.
Pope Felix III was his great-grandfather.
Gregory's mother, Silvia, and two paternal aunts, Trasilla and Emiliana, are honored by Catholic and Orthodox churches as saints.
As a student, he excelled in grammar, rhetoric, the sciences, literature, and law. He possibly studied law in preparation for a public career. At 33, he became a prefect of Rome, the top civil office in the city.
Gregory was ambassador to the imperial court in Constantinople from 579 to 586.
He also built a monastery on his family's estate. He was a papal envoy before becoming a pope himself.
A good administrator, Gregory outperformed the Roman emperors before him in uplifting the welfare of the Romans.
Gregory is also famed for his writings. He is known for his Dialogues, a collection of four books on miracles, signs, wonders, and healings.
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