St. Leander of Seville,
Bishop (Feast - February 27th) Leander was born at Cartagena, Spain, of Severianus and Theodora, illustrious for their virtue. St. Isidore and Fulgentius, both
bishops were his brothers, and his sister, Florentina, is also numbered among the saints. He became a
monk at
Seville and then the
bishop of the See. He was instrumental in converting the two sons Hermenegild and Reccared of the Arian Visigothic King Leovigild. This action earned him the kings's wrath and exile to Constantinople, where he met and became close friends of the Papal Legate, the future Pope Gregory the Great. It was Leander who suggested that Gregory write the famous commentary on the Book of
Job called the Moralia. Once back home, under King Reccared, St. Leander began his
life work of propagating
Christian orthodoxy against the Arians in Spain. The third local Council of Toledo (over which he presided in 589) decreed the consubstantiality of the three Persons of the Trinity and brought about moral reforms. Leander's unerring
wisdom and unflagging
dedication let the
Visigoths and the Suevi back to the true
Faith and obtained the gratitude of Gregory the Great. The saintly
bishop also composed an influential Rule for
nuns and was the first to introduce the Nicene
Creed at Mass. Worn out by his many activities in the
cause of Christ, Leander died around 600 and was succeeded in the See of
Seville by his brother Isidore. The Spanish Church honors Leander as the
Doctor of the Faith.
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