Pope Leo I tangled with Attila the Hun and won. Pope Leo III crowned Charlemagne as the first Holy Roman Emperor. This is the history of a legendary papal namesake.

In 452, Leo I risked his life by traveling hundreds of miles from Rome to meet Attila the Hun, who was in the midst of a murderous campaign across continental Europe.

The current Pope Leo undoubtedly knows the story: Raphael’s fresco depicting Leo and Attila can be seen in the Raphael Rooms in the Vatican, near the Sistine Chapel.