Gregory the Great and the Rise of Papal Power in Italy
In a time when Italy was torn between Lombard invasions and Byzantine neglect, Gregory the Great emerged as both pastor and statesman. His leadership transformed the papacy into a force that guided not only the Church but also the politics of medieval Europe.
By BookOfWorldHistory·September 13, 2025·History·6 min read · 1,071 words
Originally published at: https://www.bookofworldhistory.com/blog/gregory-the-great-rise-papal-power-italy
In a time when Italy was torn between Lombard invasions and Byzantine neglect, Gregory the Great emerged as both pastor and statesman. His leadership transformed the papacy into a force that guided not only the Church but also the politics of medieval Europe.
When the Byzantine emperor Justinian died in 565 CE, Italy was left in a fragile state. His reconquest of the peninsula from the Ostrogoths had drained the empire of resources, and the land was scarred by decades of war. Barely three years later, a new threat appeared: the Lombards, or “Longbeards,” a Germanic people who swept down into northern Italy.
The Lombards were unlike the Goths or Vandals who had come before them. Contemporary writers described them as unusually fierce, delighting in bloodshed and destruction. They brought with them no traditions of learning or art, only the harsh culture of warriors who lived by the sword. Under their king, Alboin, they seized the fertile lands of the north, establishing Pavia as their capital and declaring themselves masters of Italy.
Yet Alboin’s reign was short. Betrayed and murdered, he was followed by other rulers who met similar fates. For a decade the Lombards had no king at all, and thirty-six dukes ruled their territories as petty warlords. Italy was divided, devastated, and leaderless. The Byzantines still claimed the peninsula as part of their empire, but in truth their control extended only to a handful of coastal cities—Ravenna, Rome, Naples, and Venice—while the rest lay under the grip of these new Germanic conquerors.
Italy in the late 6th century, with much of the north under Lombard control
Rome Left to Fend for Itself
The Byzantine emperors who succeeded Justinian were far more concerned with defending Constantinople than protecting distant Italy. The empire faced constant threats from Persians and Avars, leaving little energy or money to aid the Italians. Rome repeatedly sent envoys eastward, begging for soldiers and supplies, but their pleas fell on deaf ears.
By the late 6th century, the exarch in Ravenna, the emperor’s representative in Italy, could barely defend his own stronghold, let alone assist the rest of the country. Rome, once the capital of a vast empire, now felt abandoned, its citizens caught between Byzantine neglect and Lombard aggression.
It was in this bleak landscape that a reluctant man named Gregory, once a wealthy noble and city prefect, was chosen to lead the Roman Church.
Gregory’s Reluctant Rise to the Papacy
Gregory I, later known as Gregory the Great, became pope in 590 CE, though he never sought the role. “For my sins,” he wrote, “I find myself bishop not of the Romans but of the Lombards, men whose promises stab like swords, and whose kindness is bitter punishment.”
In his youth, Gregory had been a rising star of Roman society. He held the office of prefect, the highest civil position in the city, wearing the imperial purple and moving through Rome with all the pomp of a powerful statesman. Yet despite this dazzling career, Gregory turned his back on worldly ambition. He gave away his fortune, founded monasteries, and embraced the austere life of a monk.
Even in the cloister, his administrative genius was evident. He became abbot of his monastery, and soon his reputation as a man of ability and devotion spread. When the papacy fell vacant, the people of Rome pressed him into office. What began as a reluctant acceptance would transform not only his own life but also the destiny of the papacy itself.
Gregory abandoned his career as a Roman prefect to embrace the monastic life
A Pope Who Acted Like a King
Gregory’s papacy marked a turning point in history. For him, Rome was not merely a city but the eternal heart of Christendom, and its bishop was divinely chosen to lead the Church universal. By asserting this belief with unwavering conviction, Gregory laid the foundations for the papal supremacy that would dominate the Middle Ages.
Yet he did not only claim spiritual authority. Circumstances forced him into a political role as well. With Byzantine officials unwilling or unable to defend Rome, Gregory assumed powers normally reserved for emperors. He organized defenses against the Lombards, gave orders to generals, managed supplies, and appointed governors. At one point, he even negotiated peace directly with a Lombard duke—an act that infuriated Emperor Maurice, who accused him of arrogance and disloyalty.
But Gregory’s actions were not born of ambition so much as necessity. If he had not stepped into the vacuum of leadership, Rome would likely have fallen. In assuming both spiritual and temporal authority, he created a model for the dual role of future popes: shepherds of the faithful and rulers of territory.
Beyond Italy: Gregory’s Mission to England
With the Lombard threat temporarily contained, Gregory turned his attention to broader goals. His vision of the Church was expansive, and he believed in spreading Christianity far beyond the borders of Italy. One of his most enduring achievements was sending Augustine, later known as Augustine of Canterbury, to convert the Anglo-Saxons in Britain.
This mission planted the seeds of Christianity in England, a legacy that would shape European history for centuries. Gregory’s concern for distant lands showed how the papacy, under his leadership, was beginning to see itself not as a local institution but as the center of a global faith.
A Life of Pain and Relentless Work
Despite his energy and achievements, Gregory lived in near-constant physical suffering. He was plagued by illness, often confined to bed for weeks at a time, and wrote of his longing for death as a release from pain. Yet even in weakness, he worked tirelessly—writing letters, managing Church lands, resolving disputes, and guiding both clergy and laity with pastoral care.
He described himself as “dying daily, yet never dying,” a vivid glimpse into the personal struggle behind his public greatness. His endurance in the face of such hardship only deepened the respect he commanded.
Gregory, often ill and confined to bed, continued to govern the Church with tireless energy
Legacy
By the time of his death in 604 CE, Gregory had transformed the papacy. He had elevated the bishop of Rome into a figure of supreme spiritual authority and, almost by necessity, into a temporal ruler as well. His dealings with the Lombards, though not always successful, helped bring a measure of stability to Italy after decades of chaos.
The Lombards would remain a dominant force in northern Italy for nearly two centuries, and the region they conquered still bears their name—Lombardy. Yet Gregory’s legacy outlasted their rule. His vision of the papacy as both a religious and political power shaped medieval Europe, influencing not only the Church but also kings, emperors, and nations.
Though he did not live to old age, Gregory was worn out by his ceaseless labor and suffering. In the end, his life stands as a turning point in the history of the Roman Church: from a struggling institution under siege to the rising power that would one day rival kings and emperors. For this reason, he is remembered as Gregory the Great—one of the most influential popes in history.