Eleventh Century: Twenty Popes
140. John XVII, May-November 1003. Little is known of him beyond the fact he was keen on establishing good relations with the new German king, Henry II (1002-1024). He authorized the Polish missionary Bruno of Querfurt to work among the Slavic peoples. Roman.
141. John XVIII, 1003-1009. A conscientious and virtuous pope, John was particularly concerned with the Church in Germany, and caring for the Slavic immigrations. In 1004 he solemnly canonized the Polish martyrs Benedict, John, Isaac, Matthew and Christian. He sent the pallium (a sign of jurisdiction) to Archbishop Meingandus of Trier, and Elphege of Canterbury. Roman.
142. Sergius IV, 1009-1012. A peaceful and charitable man, he continued the attempts of previous pontiffs to establish the Church in Germany, and to restore good relations with the Eastern Empire. When news reached Rome of the destruction of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem by Caliph al-Hakim on October 18, 1009 he successfully attempted to mobilize the various Italian rulers to drive the Saracens from Italy. Roman, son of a shoemaker.
143. Benedict VIII, 1012-24. In 1014 he crowned Henry II of Germany, Holy Roman Emperor. An efficient administrator, and a soldier, he spent much of the next six years trying to pacify Italy and restore Rome to its central position. He formed an alliance with Pisa and Genoa and defeated Arab invaders in the north of Italy in a sea-battle that he himself led. He passed canons forbidding concubinage or marriage for clerics. In a difficult age, he did much to restore the prestige of the Holy See. He formed alliances with the Germans and the Normans, and resisted efforts of the Byzantines to infiltrate Italy. Roman.
144. John XIX, 1024-1032. Brother of Benedict, his predecessor. He was also Count of Tusculum, and as such virtual ruler of Italy. He crowned Conrad, successor of Henry II, Holy Roman Emperor in St Peter's Basilica on Easter Sunday, March 26, 1027 in the presence of Kings Canute of England and Denmark, and Rodolphe III of Burgundy. He made a great impression on king Canute who obtained from him, in return for the regular payment of St Peter's Pence, the exemption of the English colony in Rome from tax. In France, his decision that the 3rd century martyr, Martial, first bishop of Limoges, should be ranked as an apostle, was accepted as authoritative. Even though his pontificate was not remarkable, he was politically astute, and did much to restore peace among warring clans. Roman.
145. Benedict IX, 1032-1044. A nephew of the good Benedict VIII, this other Count of Tusculum was like John XII (955-964) in his irresponsible way of life. A layman when elected under pressure from his father, his pontificate is a sad reflection on the way the See of Peter was abused by ambitious secular rulers. Roman.
146. Sylvester III, January-March 1045. This pope succeeded Benedict, but was expelled within a few short months. He retired to his Bishopric of Sabina where he died in 1063. His right to be considered an authentic pope has been questioned, but he is included in the list of Popes officially listed in the Vatican Year book.
147. Benedict IX (second time) April-May 1045. He was advised to resign by his god-father, John Gratian, Archpriest of St John at the Latin Gate, later to become Pope Gregory VI.
148. Gregory VI, 1045-46. A good, holy pope belonging to the Jewish family Pierleoni, he appears to have obtained the papal office by paying his god-son Benedict IX to resign. He seems to have done this from the highest motives, but he nonetheless was deposed in the Synod of Sutri and banished to Cologne where he died. His deposition was, it seems, uncanonical, but according to some accounts he resigned when it became obvious to the elderly Gregory VI that his well-meant efforts had done more harm than good. A close friend of his was the monk, Hildebrand, later to become Gregory VII, and one of the greatest Popes after St Peter. Roman.
149. Clement II, 1046-1047. A German, he started a reform programme that included a condemnation of simony, and a proclamation of a forty-days' fast for all who had knowingly been ordained by simonaical bishops. He died tragically of lead poisoning on October 9, 1047.
150. Benedict IX (third term) 1047-48. The only Pope to have held office on three separate occasions. Upon Clement's untimely death he was restored to the papal throne, but eventually forced to resign for the last time.
151. Damascus II, July-August 1048. He died of Malaria in Palestrina (where he had gone to escape the heat of Rome) only 23 days after his consecration. German.
152. St Leo IX, 1049-1054. His baptismal name was Bruno, Count of Egisheim-Dagsburg. One of the holiest pontiffs ever to occupy the throne of Peter. He entered Rome barefoot, accompanied by the monk Hildebrand. Hildebrand and St Peter Damian were his main advisers. He internationalized the College of Cardinals, seeking bishops renowned for gentleness, saintliness and kindness. No other pope ever travelled the length and breadth of Europe so extensively (before this century). He condemned simony and unchastity, deposed a number of simonaical bishops. He condemned the teaching of Berengarius of Tours that while the bread and wine became the body and blood of Christ, they did this only figuratively. During his pontificate the breach between Rome and Constantinople became wider, and on July 16, 1054 the papal legate Humbert placed on the altar of Hagia Sophia a bull excommunicating the patriarch Michael Cerularius. He was soon regarded as a saint, and Pope Victor III had his body disinterred in 1087 and placed over an altar in St Peter's because of the miracles it had worked. During his time, King Macbeth of Scotland made a pilgrimage to the Tombs of Peter and Paul in Rome. Alsatian.
153. Victor II, 1055-57. A great administrator and reforming pope, Victor kept up the campaign against simony an clerical concubinage or marriage. He was Duke of Spoleto and Count of Fermo. He also opposed the alienation of church property. He was a just and generous pope, mush loved by the people. Swabian.
154. Stephen IX, 1057-58. Son of a Duke, and Abbot of Monte Cassino, he made St Peter Damian a Cardinal with special responsibility for reform. He died tragically of fever in Florence in March 1058. French.
155. Nicholas II, 1058-1061. He pursued the reform initiatives of his immediate predecessors, and particularly tried to lessen the power of the German court. He condemned simony and unclerical unchastity, and by his alliances with the Normans helped loosen the hold of the German royal family on the Church. By making the Norman Robert Guiscard a Duke, the pope won an important ally in his struggle against lay-investiture by the German court. French.
156. Alexander II, 1061-1073. A champion of reform and of Christian resistance to the increasing power of Islam. In 1068 King Sancho V of Aragon placed his country under the pope's protection, and in 1071 substituted the Roman liturgy for the Mozarabic. The pope supported William Duke of Normandy an active promoter of reform, against King Harold of England. Carrying the banner of St Peter, William defeated Harold at Hastings in 1066. He encouraged French and Norman warriors fighting the Muslims in Sicily and Spain. In 1072 he blessed an expedition undertaken against the Saracens by Count Ebolus of Roucy. From Milan.
157. St Gregory VII, 1073-85. 'Hildebrand'. A man of exceptional ability, determination and experience, whose intellectual ability is evident from the great wealth of his writings preserved in their entirety. He was a champion of the Church's rights against the secular state, and resisted all attempts by princes and emperors to invest parishes or bishoprics in a way that gave them control over them. When Henry IV of Germany nominated his own favourites to Sees in Germany, and even Milan, Fermo and Spoleto, the Pope protested. The king attempted to depose the pope, but Gregory excommunicated the king and released his subjects from allegiance to him. When the king sought forgiveness the pope relented, but his pastoral clemency was to prove politically a mistake, and the king eventually was to seize Rome (March 1084). Gregory's letters show a keen concern for the Church's welfare in countries as distant as Norway and Denmark, Spain, Poland, and Hungary, and England. He was on good terms with Phillip I of France and William the Conqueror in England. Alfonso VI of Castile set up the Roman liturgy in place of the Mozarabic in his realms in 1080. He wanted to lead a crusade against the Turks, to restore union with the eastern Church and to restore the Holy Places to the Christians. He is generally acknowledged as one of the greatest popes of all time, and the most impressive figure of the Middle Ages. He was beatified in 1584 and canonized by Paul V in 1606. Tuscan, of humble parentage.
158. Blessed Victor III, 1086-1087. He continued the fight against lay investiture, did not rescind the excommunication of Henry IV and began a campaign against the Saracens at Mahdia (eastern Tunisia) which resulted in victory for the Christians. He was a prudent and saintly pontiff. His beatification was confirmed by Pope Leo XIII in 1887.
159. Blessed Urban II, 1088-1089. Continued the policies of Gregory VII in all matters. His name is linked with the first crusade, announced on November 27, 1095. He supported the expulsion of the Moors from Spain, and saw the Saracens driven out of Italy. He appointed St Anselm, as Archbishop of Canterbury. Urban died two weeks after the recapture of Jerusalem by the crusaders under Geoffrey de Bouillon. French.
160. Paschal II, 1099-1118. One of his most important decrees was the forbidding of trial by ordeal, against which Nicholas I (858-867) had already taken a strong stand. During his pontificate, St Bernard founded the Abbey of Clairvaux.
140. John XVII, May-November 1003. Little is known of him beyond the fact he was keen on establishing good relations with the new German king, Henry II (1002-1024). He authorized the Polish missionary Bruno of Querfurt to work among the Slavic peoples. Roman.
141. John XVIII, 1003-1009. A conscientious and virtuous pope, John was particularly concerned with the Church in Germany, and caring for the Slavic immigrations. In 1004 he solemnly canonized the Polish martyrs Benedict, John, Isaac, Matthew and Christian. He sent the pallium (a sign of jurisdiction) to Archbishop Meingandus of Trier, and Elphege of Canterbury. Roman.
142. Sergius IV, 1009-1012. A peaceful and charitable man, he continued the attempts of previous pontiffs to establish the Church in Germany, and to restore good relations with the Eastern Empire. When news reached Rome of the destruction of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem by Caliph al-Hakim on October 18, 1009 he successfully attempted to mobilize the various Italian rulers to drive the Saracens from Italy. Roman, son of a shoemaker.
143. Benedict VIII, 1012-24. In 1014 he crowned Henry II of Germany, Holy Roman Emperor. An efficient administrator, and a soldier, he spent much of the next six years trying to pacify Italy and restore Rome to its central position. He formed an alliance with Pisa and Genoa and defeated Arab invaders in the north of Italy in a sea-battle that he himself led. He passed canons forbidding concubinage or marriage for clerics. In a difficult age, he did much to restore the prestige of the Holy See. He formed alliances with the Germans and the Normans, and resisted efforts of the Byzantines to infiltrate Italy. Roman.
144. John XIX, 1024-1032. Brother of Benedict, his predecessor. He was also Count of Tusculum, and as such virtual ruler of Italy. He crowned Conrad, successor of Henry II, Holy Roman Emperor in St Peter's Basilica on Easter Sunday, March 26, 1027 in the presence of Kings Canute of England and Denmark, and Rodolphe III of Burgundy. He made a great impression on king Canute who obtained from him, in return for the regular payment of St Peter's Pence, the exemption of the English colony in Rome from tax. In France, his decision that the 3rd century martyr, Martial, first bishop of Limoges, should be ranked as an apostle, was accepted as authoritative. Even though his pontificate was not remarkable, he was politically astute, and did much to restore peace among warring clans. Roman.
145. Benedict IX, 1032-1044. A nephew of the good Benedict VIII, this other Count of Tusculum was like John XII (955-964) in his irresponsible way of life. A layman when elected under pressure from his father, his pontificate is a sad reflection on the way the See of Peter was abused by ambitious secular rulers. Roman.
146. Sylvester III, January-March 1045. This pope succeeded Benedict, but was expelled within a few short months. He retired to his Bishopric of Sabina where he died in 1063. His right to be considered an authentic pope has been questioned, but he is included in the list of Popes officially listed in the Vatican Year book.
147. Benedict IX (second time) April-May 1045. He was advised to resign by his god-father, John Gratian, Archpriest of St John at the Latin Gate, later to become Pope Gregory VI.
148. Gregory VI, 1045-46. A good, holy pope belonging to the Jewish family Pierleoni, he appears to have obtained the papal office by paying his god-son Benedict IX to resign. He seems to have done this from the highest motives, but he nonetheless was deposed in the Synod of Sutri and banished to Cologne where he died. His deposition was, it seems, uncanonical, but according to some accounts he resigned when it became obvious to the elderly Gregory VI that his well-meant efforts had done more harm than good. A close friend of his was the monk, Hildebrand, later to become Gregory VII, and one of the greatest Popes after St Peter. Roman.
149. Clement II, 1046-1047. A German, he started a reform programme that included a condemnation of simony, and a proclamation of a forty-days' fast for all who had knowingly been ordained by simonaical bishops. He died tragically of lead poisoning on October 9, 1047.
150. Benedict IX (third term) 1047-48. The only Pope to have held office on three separate occasions. Upon Clement's untimely death he was restored to the papal throne, but eventually forced to resign for the last time.
151. Damascus II, July-August 1048. He died of Malaria in Palestrina (where he had gone to escape the heat of Rome) only 23 days after his consecration. German.
152. St Leo IX, 1049-1054. His baptismal name was Bruno, Count of Egisheim-Dagsburg. One of the holiest pontiffs ever to occupy the throne of Peter. He entered Rome barefoot, accompanied by the monk Hildebrand. Hildebrand and St Peter Damian were his main advisers. He internationalized the College of Cardinals, seeking bishops renowned for gentleness, saintliness and kindness. No other pope ever travelled the length and breadth of Europe so extensively (before this century). He condemned simony and unchastity, deposed a number of simonaical bishops. He condemned the teaching of Berengarius of Tours that while the bread and wine became the body and blood of Christ, they did this only figuratively. During his pontificate the breach between Rome and Constantinople became wider, and on July 16, 1054 the papal legate Humbert placed on the altar of Hagia Sophia a bull excommunicating the patriarch Michael Cerularius. He was soon regarded as a saint, and Pope Victor III had his body disinterred in 1087 and placed over an altar in St Peter's because of the miracles it had worked. During his time, King Macbeth of Scotland made a pilgrimage to the Tombs of Peter and Paul in Rome. Alsatian.
153. Victor II, 1055-57. A great administrator and reforming pope, Victor kept up the campaign against simony an clerical concubinage or marriage. He was Duke of Spoleto and Count of Fermo. He also opposed the alienation of church property. He was a just and generous pope, mush loved by the people. Swabian.
154. Stephen IX, 1057-58. Son of a Duke, and Abbot of Monte Cassino, he made St Peter Damian a Cardinal with special responsibility for reform. He died tragically of fever in Florence in March 1058. French.
155. Nicholas II, 1058-1061. He pursued the reform initiatives of his immediate predecessors, and particularly tried to lessen the power of the German court. He condemned simony and unclerical unchastity, and by his alliances with the Normans helped loosen the hold of the German royal family on the Church. By making the Norman Robert Guiscard a Duke, the pope won an important ally in his struggle against lay-investiture by the German court. French.
156. Alexander II, 1061-1073. A champion of reform and of Christian resistance to the increasing power of Islam. In 1068 King Sancho V of Aragon placed his country under the pope's protection, and in 1071 substituted the Roman liturgy for the Mozarabic. The pope supported William Duke of Normandy an active promoter of reform, against King Harold of England. Carrying the banner of St Peter, William defeated Harold at Hastings in 1066. He encouraged French and Norman warriors fighting the Muslims in Sicily and Spain. In 1072 he blessed an expedition undertaken against the Saracens by Count Ebolus of Roucy. From Milan.
157. St Gregory VII, 1073-85. 'Hildebrand'. A man of exceptional ability, determination and experience, whose intellectual ability is evident from the great wealth of his writings preserved in their entirety. He was a champion of the Church's rights against the secular state, and resisted all attempts by princes and emperors to invest parishes or bishoprics in a way that gave them control over them. When Henry IV of Germany nominated his own favourites to Sees in Germany, and even Milan, Fermo and Spoleto, the Pope protested. The king attempted to depose the pope, but Gregory excommunicated the king and released his subjects from allegiance to him. When the king sought forgiveness the pope relented, but his pastoral clemency was to prove politically a mistake, and the king eventually was to seize Rome (March 1084). Gregory's letters show a keen concern for the Church's welfare in countries as distant as Norway and Denmark, Spain, Poland, and Hungary, and England. He was on good terms with Phillip I of France and William the Conqueror in England. Alfonso VI of Castile set up the Roman liturgy in place of the Mozarabic in his realms in 1080. He wanted to lead a crusade against the Turks, to restore union with the eastern Church and to restore the Holy Places to the Christians. He is generally acknowledged as one of the greatest popes of all time, and the most impressive figure of the Middle Ages. He was beatified in 1584 and canonized by Paul V in 1606. Tuscan, of humble parentage.
158. Blessed Victor III, 1086-1087. He continued the fight against lay investiture, did not rescind the excommunication of Henry IV and began a campaign against the Saracens at Mahdia (eastern Tunisia) which resulted in victory for the Christians. He was a prudent and saintly pontiff. His beatification was confirmed by Pope Leo XIII in 1887.
159. Blessed Urban II, 1088-1089. Continued the policies of Gregory VII in all matters. His name is linked with the first crusade, announced on November 27, 1095. He supported the expulsion of the Moors from Spain, and saw the Saracens driven out of Italy. He appointed St Anselm, as Archbishop of Canterbury. Urban died two weeks after the recapture of Jerusalem by the crusaders under Geoffrey de Bouillon. French.
160. Paschal II, 1099-1118. One of his most important decrees was the forbidding of trial by ordeal, against which Nicholas I (858-867) had already taken a strong stand. During his pontificate, St Bernard founded the Abbey of Clairvaux.
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