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Francis Borgia, Saint

(Encyclopedia)Francis Borgia, Saint bôrˈjə [key], 1510–72, Spanish Roman Catholic reformer, third general of the Jesuits (see Jesus, Society of). He was a member of the famous Borgia family, a great-grandson o...

Francis Xavier, Saint

(Encyclopedia)Francis Xavier, Saint, 1506–52, Basque Jesuit missionary, called the Apostle to the Indies, b. Spanish Navarre, of noble parents. He studied in Paris (1525–34), where he became an associate of St....

Innocent I, Saint

(Encyclopedia)Innocent I, Saint, d. 417, pope (401–17), an Italian; successor of St. Anastasius I. A powerful champion of papal supremacy in the entire Church, he upheld St. John Chrysostom and condemned Pelagius...

Gregory I, Saint

(Encyclopedia)Gregory I, Saint (Saint Gregory the Great), c.540–604, pope (590–604), a Roman; successor of Pelagius II. A Doctor of the Church, he was distinguished for his spiritual and temporal leadership. Hi...

Gregory II, Saint

(Encyclopedia)Gregory II, Saint, d. 731, pope (715–31), a Roman; successor of Constantine. When Byzantine Emperor Leo III tried to impose iconoclasm in Italy by an imperial edict, Gregory answered that the empero...

Gregory VII, Saint

(Encyclopedia)Gregory VII, Saint, d. 1085, pope (1073–85), an Italian (b. near Rome) named Hildebrand (Ital. Ildebrando); successor of Alexander II. He was one of the greatest popes. Feast: May 25. Gregory's co...

Gregory Nazianzen, Saint

(Encyclopedia)Gregory Nazianzen, Saint nāzēănˈzĭn [key], c.330–390, Cappadocian theologian, Doctor of the Church, one of the Four Fathers of the Greek Church. He is sometimes called Gregory of Nazianzus and ...

Gelasius I, Saint

(Encyclopedia)Gelasius I, Saint jĭlāˈshēəs [key], d. 496, pope (492–96); successor of St. Felix III (also known as Felix II). He was a firm upholder of the papal supremacy in a dispute with Anastasius, the B...

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