Today, the Church commemorates a great reforming Pope and Pastor: Pope St. Gregory VII. As Cardinal Hildebrand, he served well the Pope[s] that came before him. Is this not a pattern prevalent also in our day? The then-Cardinal Ratzinger (now Pope Benedict XVI) served valiantly under his predecessor, Pope John Paul the Great. Pope John Paul II was a magnificent adviser to Pope Paul VI, who in his turn (as Cardinal Montini) served well under Pope Pius XII. Furthermore, Eugenio Cardinal Pacelli (the future Pope Pius XII) served magnificently and valiantly as Secretary of State under his predecessor, Pope Pius XI. I could continue this list if there were sufficient time and space for it. Pope Gregory was the driving force behind a reform of the Church that was so sorely needed. He did this valiantly despite much resistance, which is probably the cause of his crying out shortly before death:
I have loved justice and hated iniquity; therefore, I die in exile.
Yet--surprisingly to some--Gregory could be best known as a great and humble Pastor of the Church. Indeed, that is how he is listed in the Missal and in the Liturgy of the Hours. One event in his life shows us why: Pope Gregory absolved Emperor Henry IV. Before all else, Gregory VII was a priest.
The Pope was spending the winter in Canossa in northern Italy. Secretly, Henry traveled from Germany to Canossa, with only one servant, his wife, and his son, crossing the Alps in the depths of one of the severest winters on record. He arrived in January 1077. He took off his royal robes and dressed himself in sackcloth, a rough material worn as a sign of penance. He stood barefoot in the snow outside the castle gates. Some of Gregory's advisers may have warned him that Henry could not be trusted. But Gregory was above all a priest, and when a sinner comes to a priest, doing penance, asking to be forgiven, the priest must give him absolution. Gregory absolved Henry, revoked the excommunication, and restored him to his throne. -Anne Carroll, Christ the King: Lord of History, page 162
