time, which was stolen by the hordes of
Charles V. for the sake of its heavy gilding. The marble effigy by
Raffaele di Montelupo was placed on the vacant base, and remained
until Benedict XIV. (1740-1758) set up a fifth and last figure, which
was cast in bronze by Wenschefeld.

[Illustration: The Angel on the Mausoleum of Hadrian.]

It is remarkable that Gregory could think of the spiritual mission of
the church in times so troubled, when the last hour of Rome and the
civilized world seemed to have come. He saw that neither the condition
of the world nor that of the Church was hopeless, and his ability,
assisted by political circumstances, gave promise of more prosperous
times. A great part of Europe accepted the Christian faith during his
pontificate. Theolinda, queen of the Lombards, after the death of her
husband Autharic, in 590, contributed greatly to the spreading of the
gospel among her own people. The west Goths of Spain were converted
through Reccared, their king. We need not repeat here the well-known
story of the manner in which Gregory's sympathy for the Anglo-Saxon
race was excited by seeing one of them in the slave-market of Rome.
The mission to which he intrusted the conversion of the British Isles
was composed of three holy men, Mellitus, Augustin, and John, who were
accompanied by other devout followers. They left Rome in the spring of
596, but could not land on the shores of England until the middle of
the following year. Mention of this fact is made in two documents
only,--in the "Liber Pontificalis," vol. i. p. 312, and in a writing
by Prosper of Aquitania in which the English nation is called _gens
extremo oceano posita_ (a people living at the end of the ocean).

Not less surprising in the career of this man is the institution of a
school for religious music. It was established in one of the halls of
the Lateran, and even the Carlovingian kings obtained from it skilful
maestri and organists. It is still prosperous. To Gregory we owe the
_canto fermo_, or Gregorian chant, which, if properly executed,
imparts such a grave and solemn character to the ceremonies of our
church.

[Illustration: Modern facade of the Monastery of S. Gregory on the
Caelian.]

Gregory's paternal house stood on the slope of the Caelian, facing the
palace of the Caesars, on a street named the Clivus Scauri, which
corresponds very nearly to the modern Via dei SS. Giovanni e Paolo.
Fond as he was of monastic life, he exte