Last Will And Testament

Letter 3,58 - to Fortunatus, bishop of Naples. August 593

"It is right to fulfill religious desires when it is not difficult. And this is so in the case of the Abbess Gratiosa, who has joined her community in presenting a petition, which is contained in her appendix. In it she has claimed that Rustica, recorded as a patrician, is known to have built a convent for nuns, through her final decision of her will, in the city of Naples. It is her own home, in the region of Herculaneum, in a village called Lampas. Here she has arranged that the aforesaid Gratiosa should be abbess in charge. She has also built an oratory, and, to carry her vow, Gratiosa has suggested that she withdraw a third of her whole fortune, and she want it to be consecrated in honor of the blessed Mary, ever virgin and mother of our Lord Jesus Christ.
And for that reason, my very dear brother, we thought that your Beloved should be encouraged with the present injunction to inspect the final will first of al and, if it remains lawful, to make certain that the same third has in all truth spent on the same convent."

Cited from: The Letters of Gregory the Great, trans. John R.C. Martyn (Toronto: PIMS, 2004), I: 278.

The Garden Of Felicianus

Letter 2,46 - to Sub-deacon Sabinus, on a garden to be given to a convent. September 591-August 592

"And for that reason we order your Experience with this authority to hand over quickly and without uncertainty the garden of the dead priest Felicianus. It lies in the first region before the steps of Saint Sabina.
Leaving aside any excuse, give it to the convent of Euprepia, in which a community of nuns are known to live, for them to possess with a proprietary right, so that aided by the benefit of our generosity, they may persevere in serving God, with his support also, with secure minds."

Cited from: The Letters of Gregory the Great, trans. John R.C. Martyn (Toronto: PIMS, 2004), I: 227.

Earthly Help and Heavenly Rewards

Letter 1,23 - to sub-deacon Anthelm. February, 591.

"It has been suggested to us that some nuns in the city of Nola, while staying in the Aborida, endured an excessive deprivation of food and clothing. From the precept of God, it is fitting that we help them and relieve their want as far as we can, with the Lord's giving.
For that reason we charge your Experience with the present order: from this present ninth indiction, you should give them forty gold coins and thereafter at subsequent indictions provide twenty gold coins each year, which you may charge to your accounts. (..) Do this therefore in such a way that you also participate in a future reward."

Cited from: The Letters of Gregory the Great, trans. John R.C. Martyn (Toronto: PIMS, 2004), I: 134.