Below is a list of all of the popes who reigned during the tenth 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.
117. John IX: January, 898 - January, 900 (2 years)
The papacy of John IX was taken up largely by the conflicts over the late Pope Formosus. John IX was a supporter of Formosus and worked hard to rehabilitate his reputation and revalidate his acts. He nullified the Cadaver Synod of 897, for example, a serious point of contention.
118. Benedict IV: May/June, 900 - August, 903 (3 years)
Not much is known about the reign of Pope Benedict IV. Rome continued to be divided by conflicts over the late Pope Formosus and few records remain of this time period.
119. Leo V: August/September, 903 - 904 (6 months)
Leo V was an outsider and possibly elected as a compromise candidate - at this time period, most popes were elected out of the Roman clergy.
120. Sergius III: January 29, 904 - April 14, 911 (7 years)
Sergius III had a violent start to a violent papacy. He had technically been elected back in 897, but he had to step aside in favor of John IX who had greater imperial favor.
121. Anastasius III: June, 911 - August, 913 (2 years)
The pontificate of Anastasius III was quite uneventful. He appears to have been dominated by the powerful Theophylact family in Rome. Otherwise, nothing is really known.
122. Lando: August, 913 - March, 914 (6 months)
Lando had powerful friends that helped him become pope, but aside from that nothing is really known about his pontificate. It was one of the shortest on record and perhaps one of the most undistinguished as well.
123. John X: March/April, 914 - May, 928 (14 years)
Pope John X faced terrible Saracen invasions that were devastating Italy and one of his chief tasks was to create a united front amongst the aristocracy in order properly meet the threat.
124. Leo VI: May, 928 - December, 928 (6 months)
Leo VI was an elderly man when he was elected, but the validity of his election is open to question. At the time, his predecessor John X was still alive and in prison.
125. Stephen VIII (VII): December, 928 - February, 931 (2 years)
The validity of Stephen's papacy is subject to question. Like his predecessory, Leo VI, he was elected while Pope John X was still alive and in prison. Thus, if John's removal from office was invalid, then neither the election of Leo nor of Stephen was valid and they weren't genuine popes. Stephen's reign was brief and few records remain.
126. John XI: February/March 931 - December 935 / January 936 (4 years)
Many believe that Pope John XI was the illegitimate son of Pope Sergius III and Marozia, a high-ranking woman in Rome. Whether that was true or not, it does seem to be the case that he was elected through the influence of Marozia.
127. Leo VII: January 3, 936 - July 13, 939 (3 years)
Leo VII only became pope because Alberic II, absolute ruler of Rome, wanted him to be pope. Alberic wanted to be able use the influence of the papacy whenever he wanted and otherwise restricted Leo to purely ecclesiastical matters.
128. Stephen IX (VIII): July 14, 939 - October, 942 (3 years)
Stephen was elected at a time of great discord between ecclesiastical and secular rulers. Stephen was, in fact, restricted to nothing but ecclesiastical matters and shut out of political affairs entirely by Alberic II, the ruler of Rome and the man who got Stephen elected in the first place.
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