Theophylactus of Tusculum (c1020–c1056) became the youngest pope ever as Pope Benedict IX. The date of his birth was uncertain but his first papacy DID start in 1032. Benedict was great-grandson of Marozia, a powerful Roman politician who ?was mistress of Pope Sergius III. Via Marozia, Sergius possibly sired Pope John IX. Several of Marozia's descendants became popes, and Benedict's immediate predecessors were his loved uncles Popes Benedict VIII and John XIX. His father was Holy Roman Emperor Alberic. This was arguably the most powerful Italian family, enabling the family to control the papacy for a century!
Pope Benedict IX, c1030
Hulton Archive
The Catholic Encyclopaedia said Benedict was c20 years old when he became pontiff. But the closest source to the pope himself was the monk-historian Rodulfus Glaber (985-1047). He was a critic of Benedict, but still he was one of the few contemporary sources available. He said the pope was 12 in 1032, the time of his accession! As did medieval scholar F Donald Logan, who wrote about Benedict IX in A History of the Church in the Middle Ages.
In terms of theology and activities of the Church, he was entirely orthodox. But Benedict was accused of sodomy, bestiality and homosexuality; he was said to have held orgies inside Lateran Palace. Cloistered monk St Peter Damian was horrified and wrote a treatise against all sex, especially homosexuality. Damian’s Book of Gomorrah said it had been rampant within the Catholic Church for centuries.
Benedict was also accused by Bishop Benno of Piacenza of many adulteries and murders. As did Pope Victor III in his Book of Dialogues. But Benedict came up with one sin that no one before or since has replicated: selling the papacy!
The first trouble came in 1036 when political opponents tried to murder Benedict in St Peter's Basilica Rome during mass. But German Emperor Conrad II restored him to power before long, and Benedict stayed in Rome until 1045. In those years, he continued to steal and murder; fed up with him, the people of Rome again drove him out.
When Benedict IX was ousted, his enemies replaced him with the Bishop of Sabina, Pope Sylvester III. But it took only 2 months for Benedict IX to re-invade Rome with force, depose Sylvester and return to power again. Amazingly Benedict allowed Sylvester to return safely to his old bishopric in Sabina, but Sylvester was later declared an anti-pope.
In terms of theology and activities of the Church, he was entirely orthodox. But Benedict was accused of sodomy, bestiality and homosexuality; he was said to have held orgies inside Lateran Palace. Cloistered monk St Peter Damian was horrified and wrote a treatise against all sex, especially homosexuality. Damian’s Book of Gomorrah said it had been rampant within the Catholic Church for centuries.
Benedict was also accused by Bishop Benno of Piacenza of many adulteries and murders. As did Pope Victor III in his Book of Dialogues. But Benedict came up with one sin that no one before or since has replicated: selling the papacy!
The first trouble came in 1036 when political opponents tried to murder Benedict in St Peter's Basilica Rome during mass. But German Emperor Conrad II restored him to power before long, and Benedict stayed in Rome until 1045. In those years, he continued to steal and murder; fed up with him, the people of Rome again drove him out.
When Benedict IX was ousted, his enemies replaced him with the Bishop of Sabina, Pope Sylvester III. But it took only 2 months for Benedict IX to re-invade Rome with force, depose Sylvester and return to power again. Amazingly Benedict allowed Sylvester to return safely to his old bishopric in Sabina, but Sylvester was later declared an anti-pope.
Benedict IX enjoyed his second papacy for c2 months, and then abdicated because godfather archpriest John Gratian gave him money. Benedict IX had really wanted to marry his cousin and decided he would finance his new life by selling his pontificate to Gratian. But she rejected Benedict.
All That's Interesting
Gratian made a better pope than his godson. After sealing the deal, Gratian became Pope Gregory VI in 1045. This deal annoyed Sylvester III who promptly sought to reinstate his own papacy. Gregory had bankrupted the church in buying out Benedict, so he couldn’t fight off a new claimant. His papacy lasted as long as Sylvester's, but this time it took longer for Benedict to return to power, as planned.
Rome’s clergy broke into 3 factions, each supporting 1 claimant (Pope Gregory, Benedict, Pope Sylvester). So Henry III King of Germany & Burgundy invaded Rome to intervene. He met the candidates near Rome in Dec 1046. King Henry wanted to resolve the crisis, so that the legitimate new pope could quickly crown him as Holy Roman Emperor.
So the Emperor opened Sutri Council in Dec 1046 to dismiss all 3 of them. Sylvester tried to fight for his claim so he received life imprisonment. Pope Gregory admitted he was in above his skill-level and resigned. Even though Benedict was assured of the support of the libertine faction, the young man didn’t show up for the proceedings and was deposed. So King Henry's selected Bishop Sugier of Bamberg to become Pope Clement II at Christmas 1046. In return Clement quickly crowned King Henry III as Holy Roman Emperor.
Pope Clement II died mysteriously in Oct 1047, after serving only 11 months as Pope. So Benedict seized the Lateran Palace in Nov 1047, and again installed himself on the papal throne. But Benedict was driven away by Henry III's German troops in July 1048 who installed Pope Damasus II (July-Aug 1048) instead. Damasus died a month later from ?malaria.
Even after one of the shortest papacies in history, Benedict IX did NOT go for a fourth papal term. Rather Benedict retired to a monastery near Rome where he repented and soon died, at only c36 years old. Emperor Henry III quickly returned to Rome and made Leo IX pope (1049-54), the man who ruled for 6 years and brought stability to the papacy.
Emperor Henry III at the Synod of Sutri,
rejecting all three contenders for pope.
Hulton Archive
rejecting all three contenders for pope.
Hulton Archive
What a story! Benedict’s father got the Papal chair for him in Oct 1032. Benedict had three terms as pope: 1] from his election to his expulsion for Sylvester III (Oct 1032–Sept 1044); 2] from his return to his selling the papacy to Gregory VI (Apr–May 1045); and 3] from his return post-Clement II to Damasus II (Nov 1047–July 1048)'s start. He ruled during a tumultuous church era with 7 different, rapid papacies, the only man to have been Pope more than once.
NB the close subordination of pope to German emperor in mid C11th. In fact the fulfilment of the emperor’s supreme duty was to watch over the welfare of the church; the emperor was the agent of St Peter on earth. Thus 962-1046 saw the empire at its zenith and the papacy much weaker.
Thank you to Luciano Anastasi for The Tale of Benedict IX: A Papacy for Sale.
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16 comments:
Wow. I don't know much about the papacy, but it's interesting how he sold it to leave and get a lot of money. I wonder how that would go over today.
Erika
I went to a Jewish school and perhaps wouldn't have expected to study the papacy either. But the most important powers in Europe for centuries were kings, emperors, armies and the Church. My history teachers were spot on!
The tragedy of Benedict IX was not merely that a corrupt man occupied the throne of Saint Peter, but that an institution meant to embody eternity became, for a time, indistinguishable from the ambitions, appetites and violence of mortal dynasties
I find it hard to imagine what a 12 year old pope could offer. Or even for that matter one in their 20s. I guess the real power was behind the scenes.
The historical note “Pope Benedict IX: very young, often enthroned” is one of those fascinating reminders of how complex and unusual medieval church history can be. Reading about such figures really shows how different leadership and power structures were in the past compared to today. While exploring similar historical content online, I also came across alexandrastanic.com. It’s always interesting to see how modern platforms present culture, history, and creative perspectives in a more accessible and engaging way for today’s audience.
The Synod of Sutri was convened by Emperor Henry III 1046 to examine the claims of the three rival papal claimants amid charges of electoral irregularities. But could Emperors do that? Why did the popes obey the Emperor's instructions?
roentare
I agree that the papacy was an institution that churchmen and laymen firmly believed had to embody the ambitions, appetites and morality, representing God on earth.
Clearly there were many occasions in which popes and bishops did not represent God completely. Popes and bishops were religious men who were just (special) human beings.
kylie
12 year old boys cannot make any mature _papal decisions_ for themselves, let alone for the rest of the Catholic world!! He needed a regent.
If the next _royal ruler_ is a child, a regent is appointed to perform all royal duties. The regent holds the governing power until the child monarch reaches the legal age of maturity.
Georgiy
Holy Roman Emperors did not have to obey anyone's orders, including the Pope. As a result, the relationship between Emperor and Pope was character-ised by a long and even bitter power struggle for supremacy over medieval Christendom.
When the Pope was stronger, they could excommunicate the Emperor. This was a extremely worrying political weapon that absolved the Emperor's subjects of their loyalty and largely authorised rebellions.
Joe
Benedict IX and Sylvester III represented rival factions of the Roman nobility. The position of the third, Gregory VI, was peculiar. The reform party wanted to free the city and the Church from the stigma of Benedict's dissolute life; they demanded that he should resign the tiara upon receipt of money! This heroic measure was to deliver the Holy See from destruction, but it bore the clear sign of buying-and-selling sacred items and was definitely considered a flaw in Gregory's title.
Benedict did not invent the family nastiness. He was nephew of his predecessor John XIX and became Pope in October 1032 through his father’s use of bribery. His governance, marked by widely criticized behavior, sparked a Roman revolt, leading to his expulsion from Rome. Sylvester III was then elected in his place. However Benedict, with support, ousted Sylvester III months later.
History Medieval
of course. The young boy may have be naturally dirty or lazy, but he could only learn about adultery, murder, sodomy, bestiality, homosexuality and theft from the authoritative adult men around him.
Like all of us, Pope and other religious leader aren't Saints.
peppylady
That is quite true. But even so, the era discussed here still reached a higher level of immoral behaviour than even cynics might have expected.
What an interesting read, I knew none of it
Jo-Ann
It must have been a horrible era but my historical sources seem to be reliable
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