How St Gregory the Great Was Raised by Saints

It probably made the task of becoming a Saint somewhat easier that his mother and two aunts were also holy women on the path to sainthood.

From Aleteia

By Philip Kosloski

Not only was his mother a saint, but also two of his aunts, who all encouraged him to fully embrace the Catholic faith.

While it is possible to attain the heights of sanctity without any support from your family, it certainly is much easier when you are surrounded by saints during your formative years.

Becoming a saint when you are raised by saints seems natural, as is evidenced by the numerous "holy families," where parents and children all live heroically virtuous lives.

Such was the case of St. Gregory the Great, whose faith was nurtured early on by his family.

Saintly mother and aunts

While we do not know much about St. Gregory the Great's upbringing, he does reveal some things to us in his own writings. Here is a summary of one such letter written for Aleteia by Anne Bennet:

As an example of maternal love, Gregory would one day recount this anecdote. As a little boy, while playing on the edge of a high-floor window, his mother caught him just as he was about to fall. First, she instinctively gave him a slap out of terror for how he had carelessly endangered his life, then, crying with relief, she desperately held him close to her and showered him with kisses. This memory served to illustrate the divine love that, like a mother's, is not altered by necessary correction.

The Catholic Encyclopedia further confirms, "Silvia was noted for her great piety, and she gave her sons an excellent education. After the death of her husband she devoted herself entirely to religion in the 'new cell by the gate of blessed Paul'...The veneration of St. Silvia is of early date. In the ninth century an oratory was erected over her former dwelling, near the Basilica of San Saba. Pope Clement VIII (1592-1605) inserted her name under November 3."

Furthermore, not only was his mother a saint, but his aunts were as well.

As the Catholic Encyclopedia explains, "Besides his mother, two of Gregory's aunts have been canonized, Gordianus's two sisters, Tarsilla and Æmiliana, so that John the Deacon speaks of his education as being that of a saint among saints."

St. Gregory would go on to become one of the most influential saints of the Church's history, and much of that could be attributed to his own family.

It's a reminder to us all that if we want to raise our children or grandchildren to become saints, we should first start by becoming saints ourselves.