So what was Leo's personal relationship with St Peter? Leo felt very intimately connected to St Peter. Of course, every Bishop could claim that their authority comes from Peter, the very first Bishop of Rome, but Leo makes it a very intimate tie in his ordination sermons. He talks about Peter's spirit almost living through him, and I think it's very telling that when Leo is buried, he is the first pope buried in St Peter's, so that tie, that intimate tie, lives on forever. Leo had exploited the unique link between Rome and St Peter to mobilise the Christian spirit of the city. But it was also a reminder, to the wider Church, that Bishops of Rome were the ultimate authority in Christendom. And this new confidence was reflected in the centre of the city. In just over a century since the time of Constantine, the pagan city was now infused with the spirit of St Peter.


那么到底李奥个人和圣彼得有着怎样的联系？李奥觉得自己和圣彼得紧密相连。当然，每个主教都可以声称是罗马的第一任主教——圣彼得赐予了他们权力，但是李奥在他的就职布道仪式上把他和圣彼得之间的紧密联系深化了。他说圣彼得的精神几乎浸入他的骨髓，他也是第一位葬在圣彼得大教堂的人，于是那层紧密的纽带，将永远存在下去。李奥发掘了罗马城与圣彼得之间的这层独一无二的纽带，也催生了罗马城的基督教精神。但是这也提醒了广大的教徒，罗马城的主教才是基督教的终极权威。这一新信念很快反映到了城市中心。康斯坦丁时代仅仅过了大约一个世纪，异教徒之城现在就已经受到了圣彼得精神的感召。