Below is a list of all of the popes who reigned during the eleventh century. The first number is which pope they were. This is followed by their chosen name, the starting and ending dates of their reigns, and finally the number of years they were pope. Follow the links to read short biographies of each pope and learn about what they did, what they believed, and what impact they had on the course of the Roman Catholic Church.
Â
140. Sylvester II: April 2, 999 - May 12, 1003 (4 years)
The first Frenchman to become pope, Gerbert of Aurillac Sylvester II because the first Sylvester was a pope known for his close working relationship with the emperor.
141. John XVII: May 16, 1003 - November 6,1003 (5 months)
John XVII is one of the most obscure popes in the history of the Roman Catholic Church. Technically he should have been Pope John XVI, because the previous John was XV, but there had also been an antipope who adopted the name John XVI and he didn't want there to be any confusion.
142. John XVIII: December 25, 1003 - June/July 1009 (5 years)
John became pope because of the influence of the Crescentii family in Rome and he was beholden to them throughout his pontificate.
143. Sergius IV: July 31, 1009 - May 12, 1012 (2 years)
Pope Sergius IV was the second pope to change his name on election - the reason being that he didn't want to reign under the name of Peter, the first pope.
144. Benedict VIII: May 17, 1012 - April 9, 1024 (12 years)
The family of Pope Benedict VIII was heavily involved in Roman political intrigues, and one of the results of this was the election of an antipope, Gregory VI, in 1012 - but when German king Henry II recognized Benedict as pope Gregory quickly disappeared. Benedict then crowned Henry II as emperor in 1014.
145. John XIX: April 19, 1024 - October 20, 1032 (8 years)
John was the older brother of the man he succeeded, Pope Benedict. This was the first and only time something like this occurred. Like his brother, he was still a layman when he was chosen - and the only reason he was chosen was that he had enough money to bribe the right people.
146. Benedict IX: October 21, 1032 - September, 1044
Pope Benedict IX was the nephew of his predecessor, Pope John XIX, and some records suggest that he was only twelve years old when he assumed the papacy.
147. Sylvester III: January 20, 1045 - March 10, 1045 (c. 2 months)
Sylvester became pope only because his predecessor, Benedict IX, led such a disreputably life that people just couldn't stand him. Benedict was the nephew of his own predecessor, John XIX, and both papacies were filled with scandal. Sylvester didn't last long, though, and Benedict was soon back in power.
148. Benedict IX: March 10, 1045 - May 1, 1045
Pope Benedict IX was the nephew of his predecessor, Pope John XIX, and some records suggest that he was only twelve years old when he assumed the papacy.
149. Gregory VI: May 1, 1045 - December 20, 1046 (1 year, 7 months)
Gregory VI purchased the papacy from Pope Benedict IX for what is believed to be an enormous sum of money - and he must have been rich because he also seems to have paid off antipope Sylvester III in order to maintain his control of the papal throne. Ultimately, however, Gregory was forced to resign because of the scandals.
150. Clement II: December 25, 1046 - October 9, 1047 (9 months)
Clement II was appointed to the papacy by Emperor Henry III in the hopes of removing the papal throne from the currents of infighting among the Roman nobility and Clement did, indeed, embark upon a program of reform.
No comments:
Post a Comment