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The saints

St. Gregory VII

The pope who made an emperor wait in the snow at Canossa, and died in exile.

Feast: 25 May · about 1020 to 1085 · The Middle Ages · Tuscany, Rome and Salerno

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Medieval manuscript drawing of Pope St. Gregory VII in a pointed miter, holding a crosier.

Paul von Bernried, creatorArmin P., original uploader. Wikimedia Commons, Public domain.

Home / The saints / St. Gregory VII

Canossa, northern Italy, 1077

Hildebrand was a Tuscan monk who served several popes before being elected himself in 1073.1

He took the name Gregory and set out to free the Church from rulers who sold bishoprics.1

The emperor Henry IV defied him, and Gregory excommunicated him.

Patronage No official patronage we can cite yet. The Church remembers him as the great reforming pope of the 11th century.

01St. Gregory VII

Canossa

Henry came to the castle of Canossa and waited in the snow as a penitent until Gregory lifted the excommunication.1

Later Henry turned on him again, took Rome, and Gregory died in exile at Salerno.1

He is reported to have said: I have loved justice and hated iniquity, therefore I die in exile.1

Live it this week

Do the right thing that costs you

Gregory reformed the Church and died in exile for it. This week, choose the honest option in one situation where cutting a corner would be easier and nobody would know.

Notes

How we know · 1 source for this page
  1. Catholic Encyclopedia (1913), “Pope St. Gregory VII”. New Advent edition. newadvent.org

The Catholic Encyclopedia (1913) is in the public domain; we quote the New Advent edition. Texts of the Holy See are quoted briefly from vatican.va. Scripture: World English Bible, Catholic edition (public domain); Verse numbers are modern, with Douay-Rheims numbers in brackets where they differ. Photographs: Wikimedia Commons, credited under each image; full list on the photo credits page.

Lines in the narrator’s voice, without a note, are our reflection, not a historical claim. Stone & Incense restates Church teaching in plain words; our wording is not an official Church text. Report an errorCorrections.