St. Leo, IV, Pope (17 July): Butler's Lives of the Saints

About this sermon

St. Leo IV (847–855), commemorated on July 17, was one of the great defender-popes of the early Middle Ages. In this reading from The Lives of the Saints by Father Alban Butler, discover the remarkable life of the pontiff who rebuilt Rome's defenses after devastating Saracen raids, fortified the Vatican with the famous Leonine Wall, reformed clergy through discipline and councils, and strengthened the spiritual life of the Church through holy leadership. During his pontificate, St. Leo IV restored St. Peter's Basilica after it had been plundered, organized the defense of Rome, blessed Christian forces before the decisive Battle of Ostia, corrected abuses among the clergy, welcomed King Æthelwulf of England on pilgrimage, and authored an important pastoral instruction for bishops and priests. Tradition also remembers him for miraculously extinguishing a great fire through the Sign of the Cross. His life reminds Catholics that the Church is defended not only by walls and armies, but above all by holiness, discipline, prayer, and fidelity to Christ. 00:00 Introduction 00:17 Early life and education of Leo IV 00:32 Election as Pope in 847 00:41 Repairing St. Peter's Basilica after Saracen attacks 00:58 Building the Leonine Wall around the Vatican 01:05 Strengthening Rome's defenses 01:13 Battle of Ostia and blessing of Christian forces 01:36 Reforming the Church and correcting abuses 01:44 Council of 67 bishops 01:52 Discipline of clergy and Anastasius' deposition 02:00 King Æthelwulf's pilgrimage to Rome 02:07 The Pope's pastoral instruction for bishops 02:24 Miracle of extinguishing the great fire 02:32 Death of St. Leo IV 02:48 Election of Pope Benedict III 03:10 Anastasius the Bibliothecarius and historical testimony https://sensusfidelium.com/the-lives-of-the-fathers-martyrs-and-other-principal-saints/july/st-leo-iv-pope/ 🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴 Support Catholic Businesses here - https://sensusfidelium.com/catholic-businesses/ Sensus Fidelium Press - https://sensusfideliumpress.com/ Sensus Fidelium Apps - https://sensusfidelium.tv/ Support Sensus Fidelium - https://sensusfidelium.com/donate-support/ 🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴 🙏🏻PLEASE HELP OUR CHANNEL GROW 🙏🏻 ▶ 1. Become a Channel Patron: https://www.patreon.com/SensusFidelium ▶ 2. Visit the website https://www.sensusfidelium.com for Gueranger, Saint of the Day, Apologetics, Meditation by the Saints, Scripture Study and more. ▶ 3. Subscribe to Other Video Platforms 🔴 BitChute --- https://www.bitchute.com/channel/Sensus_Fidelium/ 🔴 Rumble --- https://rumble.com/c/c-298311 🔴 My Catholic Tube - https://mycatholictube.com/videos/sensus-fidelium-channel/ 🔴 LBRY.tv --- https://lbry.tv/@SensusFidelium:c 🔴 ODYSEE - https://odysee.com/@SensusFidelium:c 🔴 UGETube - https://videos.utahgunexchange.com/@Sensus%20Fidelium 🔴 BrandNewTube - https://brandnewtube.com/@SensusFidelium 🔴 GabTV - https://tv.gab.com/channel/Sensus_Fidelium 🔴 GloriaTV - https://gloria.tv/Sensus%20Fidelium 🔴 Brighteon - https://www.brighteon.com/channels/sensusfidelium ▶ 4. Paypal, Bitcoin, Anedot, Stripe, Square & PO Box donations - https://sensusfidelium.com/donate-support/ ▶ 5. YouTube: Click Subscribe, then Click "Notification Bell" = 🔔 Please "Like" our videos so that Youtube shares it to others by clicking the "Like" thumbs-up under the video = 👍🏻 ▶ 6. Please share this video 📲, and help others find Christ inside the Catholic Church! Please share this video on Facebook and Twitter using the share button. ▶ 7. Follow on Social Media: 🔴 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SensusFidelium/ 🔴 Twitter: https://https://twitter.com/Sensus_Fidelium 🔴 YouTube: Click Subscribe, then Click "Notification Bell" = 🔔 🔴 Parler: https://parler.com/profile/Sensusfidelium/posts 🔴 SP3RN: https://www.sp3rn.com/community/pages/14-sensus-fidelium 🔴 GAB: https://gab.com/Sensus_Fidelium 🔴 Bastyon: https://bastyon.com/sensusfidelium 🔴 GETTR: https://gettr.com/user/sensus_fidelium 🔴 INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/sensusfidelium/ 🔴 Telegram: https//t.me/RealSensusFidelium 🔴 Truth Social - @SensusFidelium ▶ 8. Follow on iTunes: 🔴 https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/sensus-fidelium-catholic-podcast/id1477010758 #StLeoIV #SaintLeoIV #Catholic #LivesOfTheSaints #FatherAlbanButler #SaintOfTheDay #CatholicChurch #PopeLeoIV #ChurchHistory #TraditionalCatholic #CatholicFaith #Rome #Vatican #ChristianHistory #DailySaints