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St. Leo, a Roman, lived in the fifth century. At the death of Pope Sixtus, he became pope. Those were hard times for the Church. Barbarian armies were attacking Christians in many places. Within the Church, some people were spreading errors about the faith, too. But St. Leo was one of the greatest popes there ever was. He was absolutely unafraid of anything or anyone. He had great trust in the help of the first pope, St. Peter the apostle. He prayed to St. Peter often.
To stop the spread of false teachings, St. Leo explained the true faith with his famous writings. He called a Council to condemn the wrong doctrines. Those who would not give up their mistaken beliefs were put out of the Church. And Pope Leo received back into the Church those who were sorry. He asked people to pray for them.
When a large army of barbarians called Huns came to attack Rome, all the people were filled with fear. They knew that the Huns had already burned many cities. To save Rome, St. Leo rode out to meet the fierce leader, Attila. The only weapon he had was his great trust in God. When they met, something wonderful happened. Attila, the cruel pagan leader, showed the pope great honor. He made a treaty of peace with him. Attila said afterward that he had seen two mighty figures standing by the pope while he spoke. It is believed that they were the great apostles, Peter and Paul. They had been sent by God to protect Pope Leo and the Christians.
Because of his humility and charity, Pope Leo was loved by all. He was pope for twenty-one years. He died on November 10, 461.
