The POPE Encyclopedia
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BENEDICT IX
POPE from 1032 to 1044, again in 1045, once once more in 1047-1048. One of the most corrupt and notorious of all popes, Benedict IX is distinguished for selling the throne of St. Peter and for being the only pontiff to reign for three different periods. The nephew of the two Tusculani popes Benedict VIII and John XIX, he was the son of Count Alberic II of Tusculum, receiving an arranged election as pope through the bribes of his father. Consecrated on October 21,1032, he was reportedly only ten or twelve at that time --this is probably not accurate; he was most likely in his twenties. Regardless, the next twelve years were spent in utterly dissolute fashion. He was scandalous, sensual, and violent, remaining on the throne only by the threat of arms. Finally, in 1044, the Romans rose up against him through the conspiring of the Crescenti family. Benedict was driven from the city, and on January 20, 1045, the Crescenti installed John of Sabina as Sylvester III. Benedict refused to give up, excommunicating Sylvester and returning to power on Marxh 10. This time, he could last only two months. On May 1, he took the outrageous step of selling the throne to his godfather Giovanni Graziano, a priest who took the name Gregory VI; technically, he accepted a bribe to step down, but realistically, he had given the money in return of the office. By the next year, Benedict had come to regret his act. He thus reappeared in Rome, marking the presence of three pope, himself, Gregory VI, and Sylvester III. Summoned to the Synod of Sutri in 1046, he refused to go, remaining behind the walls of the fortress of Tusculum. Nevertheless, the synod, under the ruler Henry III of Germany, deposed all three and appointed Suidger of Bamberg as Clement II. Clement soon died (perhaps by poison) and Benedict installed himself on November 8, 1047. He was forced out yet again at the command of Emperor Henry on July 16, 1048, in favor of Damasus II. Benedict refused to recognize his deposition, spouting vitriol at Damasus and his succesor Leo IX from his fortress. There is a long tradition that just before his death, Benedict renounced his terrible life and died a penitent at Grottaferrata in Alban Hills. His date of death is uncertain. Successors: Sylvester III, Gregory VI, Clement II, and Damasus II.
THE POPE ENCYCLOPEDIA - Matthew Bunson Published by Crown Trade Paperbacks 201 East 50th Street, New York New York 10022, USA ISBN 0-517-88256-6
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