V, 5, n. 26), but of about twenty (October, 1032). He was also one of the youngest Popes. Benedict IX, original name Teofilatto, Latin Theophylactus, (died 1055/56, Grottaferrata, Papal States [Italy]), pope three times, from 1032 to 1044, from April to May 1045, and from 1047 to 1048. Romani, init. His life as a Pope so vile, so foul, so execrable, that I shudder to think of it.". Before long, however, Benedict had second thoughts. The Catholic Encyclopedia labels him a "disgrace to the chair of St. Image credit: By Sibeaster [Public domain]. (to the end of the reign of Constantine only, Berlin, 1898). However, he does make a good argument in his book “A History of the Church in the Middle Ages”. Victor, Dialogi, III, init.).

Benedict’s career as a pope had changed the Catholic Church forever. From his historical writing, he states that in 1032 when Benedict IX started his first term as a pope he was only 12 years of age.

St. Peter Damian, for one, called him a "demon from hell in the disguise of a priest."

If you have already donated, we sincerely thank you. Who Were the Radium Girls and How Did Their Story Impact Workplace Standards. St. Peter Damian described him as "feasting on immorality" and "a demon from hell in the disguise of a priest" in the Liber Gomorrhianus, a treatise on papal corruption and sex that accused Benedict IX of routine homosexuality and bestiality. Contemporary sources state that between 1040 and 1044 Benedict IX committed unspeakable deeds such as murder, torture, and theft. This article was transcribed for New Advent by Kryspin J. Turczynski. Stay up to date with the latest news, information, and special offers. But it is more probable that the truth lies with the tradition of the Abbey of Grottaferrata , first set down by Abbot Luke, who died about 1085, and corroborated by sepulchral and other monuments within its walls.
Thank you. This resulted in the intervention of King Henry III.

Less than a year later, Clement II died of poisoning by lead sugar, and although it can’t be proven, it’s possible that Benedict had a hand in the poisoning. His second-term as a pope and the shortest began in April of 1045, By this, he is supposedly 22 years of age, showing that he had matured, however, his deceiving character stayed the same, especially because of the actions he caused during his second-term. The closest source to Benedict IX was Rodulfus Glaber, a monk and historian who lived from 985 to 1047. Conservative Catholics seem to be ratherahemcross with him over his support of progressive economic policies, while more liberal Catholics feel betrayed because he hasnt come right out and started ordaining married lesbians as priests, or at least he hasnt yet. But it doesn’t last forever, either. Pope Benedict IX (c. 1012–1055, 1065, or 1085), born Theophylactus, was Pope from 1032 to 1044, again in 1045, and finally from 1047 to 1048, the only man to have served as Pope for three discontinuous periods and the only man ever to have sold the papacy. We've got a great book for you—and Interesting Thing of the Day readers can save 30% on it. Eight years later, in 1044, a group of cardinals once again drove him out of the city and elected John, Bishop of Sabina as the new pope, Sylvester III.

His supposed ruthless and deceiving behavior as a pope made the Catholic Church more aware of who they make a pope. Of his pontifical acts little is known, except that he held two or three synods in Rome and granted a number of privileges to various churches and monasteries. Meanwhile, Henry III, the king of Germany and of Burgundy (a region that roughly corresponds to southeastern France today), intervened in this entire affair. Benedict IX seized the moment and returned to Rome to start his third and final term as a pope. Benedict IX's forces returned in April 1045 and expelled his rival. Remy Lafort, S.T.D., Censor. Benedict IX then resigned in May 1045, possibly to marry, selling his office to priest John Gratian, his godfather (possibly for over 650 kg /1450 lb of gold). From the studies made by Historian F. Donald Logan, Benedict IX died in 1056 as a priest in a monastery. Nihil Obstat.
Taking advantage of the dissolute life he was leading, one of the factions in the city drove him from it (1044) amid the greatest disorder, and elected an antipope (Sylvester III) in the person of John, Bishop of Sabina (1045 -Ann. Writing of Bartholomew, its fourth abbot (1065), Luke tells of the youthful pontiff turning from his sin and coming to Bartholomew for a remedy for his disorders. He was briefly forced out of Rome in 1036 and needed the support of Emperor Conrad II (1024–1039) to return.

From his historical writing, he states that in 1032 when Benedict IX started his first term as a pope he was only 12 years of age. John was then elected pope and became Gregory VI (May, 1045). So, New Pope has been irritating a lot of people lately.