Prayer for the Feast of Pope St. Leo the Great
St. Leo I (died 461) is one of very few popes whom history calls "the Great." At a time of confusion about who Jesus is, his famous letter, the Tome to Flavian, explained clearly that Christ is one Person, truly God and truly man. When it was read at the Council of Chalcedon in 451, the bishops cried out, "Peter has spoken through Leo!" He is a Doctor of the Church.
Leo was also a shepherd of courage. In 452 he went out to meet Attila the Hun, and the invader turned back from Rome; a few years later he persuaded the Vandals to spare the city's people from slaughter. His feast is November 10. The traditional collect below asks forgiveness through the merits of this faithful servant, followed by the words of Christ on which Leo built his whole life.
The Prayer
Collect: Hear, we beseech Thee, O Lord, our prayer which we make on the feast of Thy blessed Confessor and Bishop Leo, and by the prayerful merits of one who deserved to be Thy worthy servant, absolve us from all our sins. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, Thy Son, who liveth and reigneth with Thee in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end. Amen. The words of Christ (Matthew 16:18): And I say to thee: That thou art Peter; and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.
Pope St. Leo the Great, pray for the Holy Father and for the unity of the Church.
See also: Prayer for the Pope and Nicene Creed (Traditional English).
Sources: Collect of St. Leo I from The Mass Every Day of the Year (1916); Matthew 16:18, Douay-Rheims Bible (Challoner revision). Public domain.
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