The Cardinals of the Holy Roman Church

Biographical Dictionary
Leo IV (847-855)
Cardinals first documented in the Roman Council of 853 (II)


(3) 1. GIOVANNI (?-before 867)

Birth. (No date or place found). He is also listed as Joannes III.

Education. (No information found).

Cardinalate. First documented as bishop cardinalis of Velletri in the Roman Council of 853, which ended with the deposition and excommunication of Anastasio, cardinal priest of S. Marcello (who a little later became Antipope Anastasius III, and was later librarian of the Holy Roman Church). Consecrated (no information found). Some sources express doubt about his cardinalate (1)

Death. Before 867, (no place found). Buried (no information found).

Bibliography. Cardella, Lorenzo. Memorie storiche de' cardinali della Santa Romana Chiesa. Rome : Stamperia Pagliarini, 1792, I, pt. 1, 55; Chacón, Alfonso. Vitæ, et res gestæ Pontificum Romanorum : et S.R.E. Cardinalium ab initio nascentis Ecclesiae usque ad Clementem IX P. O. M. Alphonsi Ciaconii Ord. Praed. & aliorum opera descriptæ : cum uberrimis notis. Ab Augustino Oldoino, Soc. Jesu recognitae, et ad quatuor tomos ingenti ubique rerum accessione productae. Additis Pontificum recentiorum imaginibus, & Cardinalium insignibus, plurimisque aeneis figuris, cum indicibus locupletissimis. Romæ : P. et A. De Rubeis, 1677, I, col. 625, no. II; Cristofori, Francesco. Cronotasi dei cardinali di Santa Romana Chiesa. Rome : Tipografia de Propaganda Fide, 1888, p. ; "Essai de liste générale des cardinaux. Les cardinaux des 10 premiers siècles". Annuaire Pontifical Catholique 1926. Paris : Maison de la Bonne Presse, 1927, p. 151, no. 2; Gams, Pius Bonifatius. Series episcoporum Ecclesiae catholicae. 3 v. in 1. Graz : Akademische Druck- u. Verlagsanstalt, 1957, p. V.

(1) According to Cardella, Memorie storiche de' cardinali della Santa Romana Chiesa, I, pt. 1, 55, Cardinal Alessandro Borgia in his Storia della Chiesa di Velletri, p. 150, doubts that he was ever a cardinal, not without great foundation because there is no authentic proof about it, adds Cardella. Chacón, Vitæ, et res gestæ Pontificum Romanorum : et S.R.E. Cardinalium, I, col. 625, no. II, indicates that there are authors who say he was not a cardinal but does not give any details about them.

Cool Archive

(4) 2. RODOALDO (?-after 864)

Birth. (No date or place found). He is also listed as Rodoaldus.

Education. (No information found).

Cardinalate. First documented as bishop cardinalis of Porto in the Roman Council of 853, which ended with the deposition and excommunication of Anastasio, cardinal priest of S. Marcello (who a little later became Antipope Anastasius III, and was later librarian of the Holy Roman Church). Consecrated (no information found). Legate in Constantinople. He was deposed and excommunicated in 864 because of simony.

Death. After 864, (no place found). Buried (no information found).

Bibliography. Cristofori, Francesco. Cronotasi dei cardinali di Santa Romana Chiesa. Rome : Tipografia de Propaganda Fide, 1888, p.9 ; "Essai de liste générale des cardinaux. Les cardinaux des 10 premiers siècles". Annuaire Pontifical Catholique 1926. Paris : Maison de la Bonne Presse, 1927, p. 151, no. 3; Gams, Pius Bonifatius. Series episcoporum Ecclesiae catholicae. 3 v. in 1. Graz : Akademische Druck- u. Verlagsanstalt, 1957, p. VIII.

Cool Archive

(5) 3. SERGIO (?-before 879)

Birth. (No date or place found).

Education. (No information found).

Cardinalate. First documented as bishop cardinalis of Sabina in the Roman Council of 853, which ended with the deposition and excommunication of Anastasio, cardinal priest of S. Marcello (who a little later became Antipope Anastasius III, and was later librarian of the Holy Roman Church). Consecrated (no information found). Participated in the Roman Council of 871, convoked by Pope Adrian II.

Death. Before 879, (no place found). Buried (no information found).

Bibliography. Cardella, Lorenzo. Memorie storiche de' cardinali della Santa Romana Chiesa. Rome : Stamperia Pagliarini, 1792, I, pt. 1, 59; Chacón, Alfonso. Vitæ, et res gestæ Pontificum Romanorum : et S.R.E. Cardinalium ab initio nascentis Ecclesiae usque ad Clementem IX P. O. M. Alphonsi Ciaconii Ord. Praed. & aliorum opera descriptæ : cum uberrimis notis. Ab Augustino Oldoino, Soc. Jesu recognitae, et ad quatuor tomos ingenti ubique rerum accessione productae. Additis Pontificum recentiorum imaginibus, & Cardinalium insignibus, plurimisque aeneis figuris, cum indicibus locupletissimis. Romæ : P. et A. De Rubeis, 1677, I, col. 625, no. 5; Cristofori, Francesco. Cronotasi dei cardinali di Santa Romana Chiesa. Rome : Tipografia de Propaganda Fide, 1888, p. 32; "Essai de liste générale des cardinaux. Les cardinaux des 10 premiers siècles". Annuaire Pontifical Catholique 1926. Paris : Maison de la Bonne Presse, 1927, p. 151, no. 4; Gams, Pius Bonifatius. Series episcoporum Ecclesiae catholicae. 3 v. in 1. Graz : Akademische Druck- u. Verlagsanstalt, 1957, p. XII.

Cool Archive

(6) 4. PETRONACIO (?-ca. 867)

Birth. (No date or place found). He is also listed as Petronacius and as Petronace.

Education. (No information found).

Cardinalate. First documented as bishop cardinalis of Albano in the Roman Council of 853, which ended with the deposition and excommunication of Anastasio, cardinal priest of S. Marcello (who a little later became Antipope Anastasius III, and was later librarian of the Holy Roman Church) (1). Consecrated (no information found). Participated in the Roman Council of 861, convoked by Pope Nicholas I.

Death. Ca. 867, (no place found). Buried (no information found).

Bibliography. Cardella, Lorenzo. Memorie storiche de' cardinali della Santa Romana Chiesa. Rome : Stamperia Pagliarini, 1792, I, pt. 1, 58; Chacón, Alfonso. Vitæ, et res gestæ Pontificum Romanorum : et S.R.E. Cardinalium ab initio nascentis Ecclesiae usque ad Clementem IX P. O. M. Alphonsi Ciaconii Ord. Praed. & aliorum opera descriptæ : cum uberrimis notis. Ab Augustino Oldoino, Soc. Jesu recognitae, et ad quatuor tomos ingenti ubique rerum accessione productae. Additis Pontificum recentiorum imaginibus, & Cardinalium insignibus, plurimisque aeneis figuris, cum indicibus locupletissimis. Romæ : P. et A. De Rubeis, 1677, I, col. 625-626; Cristofori, Francesco. Cronotasi dei cardinali di Santa Romana Chiesa. Rome : Tipografia de Propaganda Fide, 1888, p. 40; "Essai de liste générale des cardinaux. Les cardinaux des 10 premiers siècles". Annuaire Pontifical Catholique 1926. Paris : Maison de la Bonne Presse, 1927, p. 151, no. 5; Gams, Pius Bonifatius. Series episcoporum Ecclesiae catholicae. 3 v. in 1. Graz : Akademische Druck- u. Verlagsanstalt, 1957, p. XXII.

(1) Cardella, Memorie storiche de' cardinali della Santa Romana Chiesa, I, pt. 1, 58, indicates that Abbot Giovanni Riccy in his Memoria della città di Albano, p. 192, that Cardinal Petronacio subscribed the documents of the Council of Soissons, France, convoked by Pope Leo IV in 853. Cardella adds, that he was not persuaded that the cardinal would have been both in Rome and in France in 853 and consulted Philippe Labbè's Collezione de Concilij, who in tome 9, p. 1100, reports the names of the bishops who subscribed the documents of the Council of Soissons and that Cardinal Giovanni of Albano (?) does not appear among them. Cardella concludes saying that he does not know from which source Abbot Riccy obtained the news that he provides with such certainty.

Cool Archive

(7) 5. ROMANO (?-?)

Birth. (No date or place found).

Education. (No information found).

Cardinalate. First documented as presbyter cardinalis of the title of S. Pudenziana in the Roman Council of 853, which ended with the deposition and excommunication of Anastasio, cardinal priest of S. Marcello (who a little later became Antipope Anastasius III, and was later librarian of the Holy Roman Church). Archpriest of the Holy Roman Church.

Death. (No date or place found). Buried (no information found).

Bibliography. Cardella, Lorenzo. Memorie storiche de' cardinali della Santa Romana Chiesa. Rome : Stamperia Pagliarini, 1792, I, pt. 1, 57; Chacón, Alfonso. Vitæ, et res gestæ Pontificum Romanorum : et S.R.E. Cardinalium ab initio nascentis Ecclesiae usque ad Clementem IX P. O. M. Alphonsi Ciaconii Ord. Praed. & aliorum opera descriptæ : cum uberrimis notis. Ab Augustino Oldoino, Soc. Jesu recognitae, et ad quatuor tomos ingenti ubique rerum accessione productae. Additis Pontificum recentiorum imaginibus, & Cardinalium insignibus, plurimisque aeneis figuris, cum indicibus locupletissimis. Romæ : P. et A. De Rubeis, 1677, I, col. 625, no. 4; Cristofori, Francesco. Cronotasi dei cardinali di Santa Romana Chiesa. Rome : Tipografia de Propaganda Fide, 1888, p. ; "Essai de liste générale des cardinaux. Les cardinaux des 10 premiers siècles". Annuaire Pontifical Catholique 1926. Paris : Maison de la Bonne Presse, 1927, p. 152, no. 8.

Cool Archive

(8) 6. SERGIO (?-?)

Birth. (No date or place found).

Education. (No information found).

Cardinalate. First documented as presbyter cardinalis of the title of S. Clemente in the Roman Council of 853, which ended with the deposition and excommunication of Anastasio, cardinal priest of S. Marcello (who a little later became Antipope Anastasius III, and was later librarian of the Holy Roman Church).

Death. (No date or place found). Buried (no information found).

Bibliography. Cardella, Lorenzo. Memorie storiche de' cardinali della Santa Romana Chiesa. Rome : Stamperia Pagliarini, 1792, I, pt. 1, 57; Chacón, Alfonso. Vitæ, et res gestæ Pontificum Romanorum : et S.R.E. Cardinalium ab initio nascentis Ecclesiae usque ad Clementem IX P. O. M. Alphonsi Ciaconii Ord. Praed. & aliorum opera descriptæ : cum uberrimis notis. Ab Augustino Oldoino, Soc. Jesu recognitae, et ad quatuor tomos ingenti ubique rerum accessione productae. Additis Pontificum recentiorum imaginibus, & Cardinalium insignibus, plurimisque aeneis figuris, cum indicibus locupletissimis. Romæ : P. et A. De Rubeis, 1677, I, col. 625, no. 5; Cristofori, Francesco. Cronotasi dei cardinali di Santa Romana Chiesa. Rome : Tipografia de Propaganda Fide, 1888, p. 84; "Essai de liste générale des cardinaux. Les cardinaux des 10 premiers siècles". Annuaire Pontifical Catholique 1926. Paris : Maison de la Bonne Presse, 1927, p. 152, no. 9.

Cool Archive

(9) 7. LEONE (?-before 867)

Birth. (No date or place found).

Education. (No information found).

Cardinalate. First documented as presbyter cardinalis of the title S. Cecilia of in the Roman Council of 853, which ended with the deposition and excommunication of Anastasio, cardinal priest of S. Marcello (who a little later became Antipope Anastasius III, and was later librarian of the Holy Roman Church) (1).

Death. Before 867, (no place found). Buried (no information found).

Bibliography. Cardella, Lorenzo. Memorie storiche de' cardinali della Santa Romana Chiesa. Rome : Stamperia Pagliarini, 1792, I, pt. 1, 57; Chacón, Alfonso. Vitæ, et res gestæ Pontificum Romanorum : et S.R.E. Cardinalium ab initio nascentis Ecclesiae usque ad Clementem IX P. O. M. Alphonsi Ciaconii Ord. Praed. & aliorum opera descriptæ : cum uberrimis notis. Ab Augustino Oldoino, Soc. Jesu recognitae, et ad quatuor tomos ingenti ubique rerum accessione productae. Additis Pontificum recentiorum imaginibus, & Cardinalium insignibus, plurimisque aeneis figuris, cum indicibus locupletissimis. Romæ : P. et A. De Rubeis, 1677, I, col. 625, no. 6; Cristofori, Francesco. Cronotasi dei cardinali di Santa Romana Chiesa. Rome : Tipografia de Propaganda Fide, 1888, p. 66; "Essai de liste générale des cardinaux. Les cardinaux des 10 premiers siècles". Annuaire Pontifical Catholique 1926. Paris : Maison de la Bonne Presse, 1927, p. 52, no. 10.

(1) "Essai de liste générale des cardinaux. Les cardinaux des 10 premiers siècles". Annuaire Pontifical Catholique 1926, p. 153, no. 4, indicates that without a doubt he is the same as Cardinal Leone, priest of S. Ciriaco alle Terme (867). Cristofori, Cronotasi dei cardinali di Santa Romana Chiesa, p. 143, lists a Cardinal Leone in 853; and another one in 867.

Cool Archive

(10) 8. ZACCARIA (?-after 867)

Birth. (No date or place found). He is also listed as Zacharias.

Education. (No information found).

Cardinalate. First documented as presbyter cardinalis of the title of S. Crisogono in the Roman Council of 853, which ended with the deposition and excommunication of Anastasio, cardinal priest of S. Marcello (who a little later became Antipope Anastasius III, and was later librarian of the Holy Roman Church) (1).

Death. After 867, (no place found). Buried (no information found).

Bibliography. Cardella, Lorenzo. Memorie storiche de' cardinali della Santa Romana Chiesa. Rome : Stamperia Pagliarini, 1792, I, pt. 1, 57; Chacón, Alfonso. Vitæ, et res gestæ Pontificum Romanorum : et S.R.E. Cardinalium ab initio nascentis Ecclesiae usque ad Clementem IX P. O. M. Alphonsi Ciaconii Ord. Praed. & aliorum opera descriptæ : cum uberrimis notis. Ab Augustino Oldoino, Soc. Jesu recognitae, et ad quatuor tomos ingenti ubique rerum accessione productae. Additis Pontificum recentiorum imaginibus, & Cardinalium insignibus, plurimisque aeneis figuris, cum indicibus locupletissimis. Romæ : P. et A. De Rubeis, 1677, I, col. 625, no. 7; Cristofori, Francesco. Cronotasi dei cardinali di Santa Romana Chiesa. Rome : Tipografia de Propaganda Fide, 1888, p. 92; "Essai de liste générale des cardinaux. Les cardinaux des 10 premiers siècles". Annuaire Pontifical Catholique 1926. Paris : Maison de la Bonne Presse, 1927, p. 152, no. 11.

(1) Cristofori, Cronotasi dei cardinali di Santa Romana Chiesa, p. 92, indicates that he was promoted to the cardinalate in 867.

Cool Archive

(11) 9. BENEDETTO (?-858)

Birth. (No date found), Rome. Son of Pietro (or Patrodo). He is also listed as Benedetto seniore.

Education. He was educated at the school of the Lateran palace and had a great reputation as a pious and learned member of the clergy.

Early life. He received the subdiaconate from Pope Gregory IV.

Cardinalate. First documented as presbyter cardinalis of the title of S. Maria in Callisto or in Trastevere in the Roman Council of 853, which ended with the deposition and excommunication of Anastasio, cardinal priest of S. Marcello (who a little later became Antipope Anastasius III, and was later librarian of the Holy Roman Church). At the death of Pope Leo IV on July 17, 855, the Roman clergy and people wanted to elect as his successor Cardinal Adriano, priest of S. Marco, but he refused. Then the electors chose Cardinal Benedetto but he also resisted and withdrew himself to his titular church. The people found him in prayer in the church and took him to the Lateran palace.

Papacy. Elected pope ca. July 26, 855. Took the name Benedict III. Because of the Constitutio romana of 824, which established that a new pope could not be consecrated until receiving imperial approval, a decree of election duly signed was sent to Emperor Lothair II for approval; Bishop Nicola of Anagni and magister militum Mercurio were charged with the mission. During the trip, the two emissaries of the newly elected pope met in Gubbio with the bishop of Orte, Arsenio, who persuaded them to submit to the emperor his nephew Anastasio, a cardinal priest excommunicated by Pope Leo IV for his insubordination, as the new pope; Arsenio assured the emissaries that his nephew was well seen in the imperial court. They did so, and the emperor sent his messengers, Counts Bernardo and Adalberto, to Rome to arrange for the examination of the election accounts; the two counts met at Orte, in addition to the two Roman legates who had preceded them on the return journey, the bishops of Porto, Rodoaldo, and Todi, Agatone, as well as Anastasio and his uncle Bishop Arsenio. The group, united, elected Anastasio to the papal seat and proceeded to Rome for his consecration of Anastasio. Five miles from the city, near the basilica of S. Leucio, the messengers of Pope Benedetto, Secundiceriua Adriano, Captain of the Army Graziano, and Duke Gregorio, went to receive the response of the imperial envoys and ended up in chains and dragged back to Rome and through the Prati Neroniani burst into Città Leonina. While Pope Benedict awaited events in the Lateran palace, Antipope Anastasius III entered the Vatican basilica on September 21, 855, where he tore the painting that reproduced the sentences of two councils of Leo IV excommunicating him, but, driven by anger, also damaged the images of Christ and the Virgin Mary. Then, still followed by his supporters, he went into the Lateran, where Pope Benedict was sitting on a throne surrounded by the clergy loyal to him, and a band of armed men under the orders of the bishop of Bagnorea removed the pope from his throne. They stripped him of his pontifical insignias and placed him the under surveillance of two cardinals deposed by Pope Leo IV. The news spread through the city and the people resented the profanation of Antipope Anastasius and the mistreatment of Pope Benedict. Rome was in turmoil; the day after the invasion of the Lateran, the clergy and people of Rome held a meeting in the basilica of Santi Quattro Coronati, during which the imperial envoys struggled to persuade voters with threats to recognize Anastasius, but finally they were convinced that the resistance of the clergy and the people, led by the bishops of Ostia and Albano, could not be bent. Two days later, the election of Pope Benedict III was confirmed unanimously, recognized by the imperial ambassador and the antipope was removed from the Lateran palace. He was consecrated on September 29 or October 6, 855, by the bishops of Ostia and Albano. The pope showed great leniency toward his opponents, perhaps for not antagonizing the imperial party, and Anastasio was readmitted into the church communion, and later named him abbot of the monastery of S. Maria in Trastevere. The imperial agents made Pope Benedict III accept the supervision of Bishop Arsenio of Orte as imperial representative in Rome. After such a difficult beginning, the pontificate of Pope Benedict III was rather quiet. He worked for the pacification of Rome. The pope was of a mild personality, but nevertheless, he threatened with excommunication German priest Hukbert, brother of Queen Theutberga of Lorraine, for having committed acts of violence against certain abbeys. He publicly rebuked Ingeltrude, wife of Count Boso, who had run off with a lover and sought refuge at Lothair II's court; the pope asked the emperor to sent her back to her husband. Archbishop Hincmar of Reims had unsuccessfully tried to obtain from Pope Leo IV the ratification of the acts of the Second Council of Soissons, celebrated in 853. When the archbishop tried again, Pope Benedict III granted the approval with the condition that the report sent to Rome about this synod was in accordance with the facts. The pope also recognized Archbishop Hincmar as primate of the ecclesiastical province of Reims, subject to the rights of the Holy See. Pope Benedict III received the second embassy sent by Patriarch Ignatius of Constantinople to request the confirmation of the deposition of Gregorio Asbesta, archbishop of Siracusa, but the pope, like his predecessor, Leo IV, refused to agree until he had also heard the version of the other party. Of his papacy, numerous coins have survived and their inscriptions serve to debunk the discredited 13th century legend of "Pope Joan," which would have happened immediately after the pontificate of Pope Leo IV. King Aethelwulf of Wessex and his son Alfred resided in Rome as pilgrims during the first year of Pope Benedict's pontificate; they completed the repair of the Saxon compound, near the church of S. Spirito in Sassia (Saxony) and made at the pope's request, generous gifts to the Roman churches and people; they also promised future annual contributions of money from England. Pope Benedict restored the baptistery of the Liberian basilica as well as several other churches, including the basilica of S. Paolo fuori le mura, and completely reconstructed the cemetery of S. Marco. His pontificate saw repeated floodings of the river Tiber and he had to repair extensive damages. He did not create any cardinals.

Death. April 17, 858, Rome. Buried on the right side of the portico of the Vatican basilica (ante fores basilicæ beati Petri apostoli) (1). His tomb has been lost.

Bibliography. Bertolini, Ottorino. "Benedetto III." Enciclopedia dei papi. 3 vols. Roma : Istituto della Enciclopedia italiana, 2000, I, 730-735; Cardella, Lorenzo. Memorie storiche de' cardinali della Santa Romana Chiesa. Rome : Stamperia Pagliarini, 1792, I, pt. 1, 56-57; Chacón, Alfonso. Vitæ, et res gestæ Pontificum Romanorum : et S.R.E. Cardinalium ab initio nascentis Ecclesiae usque ad Clementem IX P. O. M. Alphonsi Ciaconii Ord. Praed. & aliorum opera descriptæ : cum uberrimis notis. Ab Augustino Oldoino, Soc. Jesu recognitae, et ad quatuor tomos ingenti ubique rerum accessione productae. Additis Pontificum recentiorum imaginibus, & Cardinalium insignibus, plurimisque aeneis figuris, cum indicibus locupletissimis. Romæ : P. et A. De Rubeis, 1677, I, col. 626, no. 8; and col. 639-644; Cristofori, Francesco. Cronotasi dei cardinali di Santa Romana Chiesa. Rome : Tipografia de Propaganda Fide, 1888, p. 54; De Angelis, Maria Antonietta. "Benedetto III, papa." Mondo vaticano. Passato e presente. Città del Vaticano : Libreria Editrice Vaticana, 1995, p. 126; "Essai de liste générale des cardinaux. Les cardinaux des 10 premiers siècles". Annuaire Pontifical Catholique 1926. Paris : Maison de la Bonne Presse, 1927, p. 152, no 12; Gregorovius, Ferdinando. Le tombe dei papi.. Roma : Edizioni del Centauro, 1931. Seconda edizione italiana riveduta e ampliata da C. Huelsen, p. 29, no. 31; Kelly, John Norman Davidson. The Oxford Dictionary of Popes. Oxford ; New York : Oxford University Press, 1986, p. 105-106; Le Liber pontificalis. Paris : E. de Boccard, 1981, 1955. 3 v. : facsims. (Bibliothèque des Écoles françaises d'Athènes et de Rome). Notes: Reprint of the 1955 edition./ Includes indexes./ Vol. 3: "Additions et corrections de L. Duchesne publiées par Cyrille Vogel ... avec L'Histoire du Liber pontificalis dupuis l'édition de L. Duchesne une bibliographie et des tables générales, II LVI-LVII, LXXV, 140-150; Montini, Renzo Uberto. Le tombe dei papi. Roma : Angelo Belardetti, 1957. Note: At head of title: Instituto di studi romani, p. 139, no. 105; Reardon, Wendy J. The deaths of the popes : comprehensive accounts, including funerals, burial places and epitaphs. Jefferson, N.C. : McFarland & Co., Publishers, 2004, p. 64; Regesta pontificum Romanorum ab conditio Ecclesia. Ad annum post Christum natum MCXCVIII. Graz : Akademische Druck- u. Verlagsanstalt, 1956. 2 v. Reprint. Originally published : Lipsiae : Veit et comp., 1885-1888. Original t.p. included : Regesta pontificum Romanorum ab condita ecclesia : ad annum post Christum natum MCXCVIII. Editionem secundam correctam et auctam edidit Philippus Jaffè ; auspiciis Gulielmi Wattenbach; curaverunt S. Loewenfeld, F. Kaltenbrunner, P. Ewald, I, 339-341.

Webgraphy. Biography by Ottorino Bertolini, in Italian, Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani - Volume 8 (1966), Treccani; biography by Horace Mann, in English, The Catholic Encyclopedia; biography, in English, Encyclopaedia Britannica; his image and biography, in English, Wikipedia; biography, in Danish, Lej Feriehus i Cori; his engraving, Biblioteca comunale dell'Archiginnasio, Bologna; his engraving, Bildarchiv Austria. Die Bildplattform der Österreichischen Nationalbibliothek; his engraving, from the same source; his engraving, also from the same source; his papal arms, Araldica Vaticana.

(1) This is the text of his epitaph. taken from Montini, Le tombe dei papi, p. 139, no. 105:

QVISQVIS HVC PROPERAS CHRISTVM PRO CRIMINE POSCENS
QVAM LACRIMIS DIGNVS SIT ROGO DISCE LOCVS
HAC GELIDA PRAESVL BENEDICTVS MEMBRA QVIETE
TERTIVS EN CLAVDIT QVAE SIBI REDDAT HVMVS
QVODQVE FORES TECTVS SERVAT SVB TEGMINE SAXI
INDIGNVM SANXIT SE SOCIARE PIIS

Cool Archive

(12) 10. LEONE (?-?)

Birth. (No date or place found).

Education. (No information found).

Cardinalate. First documented as presbyter cardinalis of the title of S. Lorenzo in Damaso in the Roman Council of 853, which ended with the deposition and excommunication of Anastasio, cardinal priest of S. Marcello (who a little later became Antipope Anastasius III, and was later librarian of the Holy Roman Church). Legate in Constantinople for the affair of the depostion of Patriach Ignatius by Photius in 866 (1).

Death. (No date or place found). Buried (no information found).

Bibliography. Cardella, Lorenzo. Memorie storiche de' cardinali della Santa Romana Chiesa. Rome : Stamperia Pagliarini, 1792, I, pt. 1, 57; Chacón, Alfonso. Vitæ, et res gestæ Pontificum Romanorum : et S.R.E. Cardinalium ab initio nascentis Ecclesiae usque ad Clementem IX P. O. M. Alphonsi Ciaconii Ord. Praed. & aliorum opera descriptæ : cum uberrimis notis. Ab Augustino Oldoino, Soc. Jesu recognitae, et ad quatuor tomos ingenti ubique rerum accessione productae. Additis Pontificum recentiorum imaginibus, & Cardinalium insignibus, plurimisque aeneis figuris, cum indicibus locupletissimis. Romæ : P. et A. De Rubeis, 1677, I, col. 626, no. 9; Cristofori, Francesco. Cronotasi dei cardinali di Santa Romana Chiesa. Rome : Tipografia de Propaganda Fide, 1888, p. 139; "Essai de liste générale des cardinaux. Les cardinaux des 10 premiers siècles". Annuaire Pontifical Catholique 1926. Paris : Maison de la Bonne Presse, 1927, p. 152, no. 13.

(1) Cristofori, Cronotasi dei cardinali di Santa Romana Chiesa, p. 139, erroneously indicates that he was succeeded in his title in 861 by Cardinal Giorgio. "Essai de liste générale des cardinaux. Les cardinaux des 10 premiers siècles". Annuaire Pontifical Catholique 1926, p. 152, no. 13, indicates that Cristofori confuses Cardinal Giorgio with that of the same name, priest of S. Lorenzo in Lucina (853).

Cool Archive

(13) 11. PAOLO (?-before 867)

Birth. (No date or place found).

Education. (No information found).

Cardinalate. First documented as presbyter cardinalis of the title of S. Balbina in the Roman Council of 853, which ended with the deposition and excommunication of Anastasio, cardinal priest of S. Marcello (who a little later became Antipope Anastasius III, and was later librarian of the Holy Roman Church).

Death. Before 867, (no place found). Buried (no information found).

Bibliography. Cardella, Lorenzo. Memorie storiche de' cardinali della Santa Romana Chiesa. Rome : Stamperia Pagliarini, 1792, I, pt. 1, 57; Chacón, Alfonso. Vitæ, et res gestæ Pontificum Romanorum : et S.R.E. Cardinalium ab initio nascentis Ecclesiae usque ad Clementem IX P. O. M. Alphonsi Ciaconii Ord. Praed. & aliorum opera descriptæ : cum uberrimis notis. Ab Augustino Oldoino, Soc. Jesu recognitae, et ad quatuor tomos ingenti ubique rerum accessione productae. Additis Pontificum recentiorum imaginibus, & Cardinalium insignibus, plurimisque aeneis figuris, cum indicibus locupletissimis. Romæ : P. et A. De Rubeis, 1677, I, col. 626, no. 10; Cristofori, Francesco. Cronotasi dei cardinali di Santa Romana Chiesa. Rome : Tipografia de Propaganda Fide, 1888, p. 124; "Essai de liste générale des cardinaux. Les cardinaux des 10 premiers siècles". Annuaire Pontifical Catholique 1926. Paris : Maison de la Bonne Presse, 1927, p. 152, no. 14.

Cool Archive

(14) 12. LEONE (?-before 867)

Birth. (No date or place found).

Education. (No information found).

Cardinalate. First documented as presbyter cardinalis of the title of S. Ciariaco alle Terme in the Roman Council of 853, which ended with the deposition and excommunication of Anastasio, cardinal priest of S. Marcello (who a little later became Antipope Anastasius III, and was later librarian of the Holy Roman Church).

Death. Before 867, (no place found). Buried (no information found).

Bibliography. Cardella, Lorenzo. Memorie storiche de' cardinali della Santa Romana Chiesa. Rome : Stamperia Pagliarini, 1792, I, pt. 1, 57; Chacón, Alfonso. Vitæ, et res gestæ Pontificum Romanorum : et S.R.E. Cardinalium ab initio nascentis Ecclesiae usque ad Clementem IX P. O. M. Alphonsi Ciaconii Ord. Praed. & aliorum opera descriptæ : cum uberrimis notis. Ab Augustino Oldoino, Soc. Jesu recognitae, et ad quatuor tomos ingenti ubique rerum accessione productae. Additis Pontificum recentiorum imaginibus, & Cardinalium insignibus, plurimisque aeneis figuris, cum indicibus locupletissimis. Romæ : P. et A. De Rubeis, 1677, I, col. 626, no. 11; Cristofori, Francesco. Cronotasi dei cardinali di Santa Romana Chiesa. Rome : Tipografia de Propaganda Fide, 1888, p. 143; "Essai de liste générale des cardinaux. Les cardinaux des 10 premiers siècles". Annuaire Pontifical Catholique 1926. Paris : Maison de la Bonne Presse, 1927, p. 152, no. 15.

Cool Archive

(15) 13. GIORGIO (?-?)

Birth. (No date or place found).

Education. (No information found).

Cardinalate. First documented as presbyter cardinalis of the title of S. Anastasia in the Roman Council of 853, which ended with the deposition and excommunication of Anastasio, cardinal priest of S. Marcello (who a little later became Antipope Anastasius III, and was later librarian of the Holy Roman Church).

Death. (No date or place found). Buried (no information found).

Bibliography. Cardella, Lorenzo. Memorie storiche de' cardinali della Santa Romana Chiesa. Rome : Stamperia Pagliarini, 1792, I, pt. 1, 57; Chacón, Alfonso. Vitæ, et res gestæ Pontificum Romanorum : et S.R.E. Cardinalium ab initio nascentis Ecclesiae usque ad Clementem IX P. O. M. Alphonsi Ciaconii Ord. Praed. & aliorum opera descriptæ : cum uberrimis notis. Ab Augustino Oldoino, Soc. Jesu recognitae, et ad quatuor tomos ingenti ubique rerum accessione productae. Additis Pontificum recentiorum imaginibus, & Cardinalium insignibus, plurimisque aeneis figuris, cum indicibus locupletissimis. Romæ : P. et A. De Rubeis, 1677, I, col. 626, no. 13; Cristofori, Francesco. Cronotasi dei cardinali di Santa Romana Chiesa. Rome : Tipografia de Propaganda Fide, 1888, p. 95; "Essai de liste générale des cardinaux. Les cardinaux des 10 premiers siècles". Annuaire Pontifical Catholique 1926. Paris : Maison de la Bonne Presse, 1927, p. 152, no 17.

Cool Archive

(16) 14. ROMANO (?-before 872)

Birth. (No date or place found).

Education. (No information found).

Cardinalate. First documented as presbyter cardinalis of the title of Ss. Giovanni e Paolo in the Roman Council of 853, which ended with the deposition and excommunication of Anastasio, cardinal priest of S. Marcello (who a little later became Antipope Anastasius III, and was later librarian of the Holy Roman Church).

Death. Before 872, (no place found). Buried (no information found).

Bibliography. Cardella, Lorenzo. Memorie storiche de' cardinali della Santa Romana Chiesa. Rome : Stamperia Pagliarini, 1792, I, pt. 1, 57; Chacón, Alfonso. Vitæ, et res gestæ Pontificum Romanorum : et S.R.E. Cardinalium ab initio nascentis Ecclesiae usque ad Clementem IX P. O. M. Alphonsi Ciaconii Ord. Praed. & aliorum opera descriptæ : cum uberrimis notis. Ab Augustino Oldoino, Soc. Jesu recognitae, et ad quatuor tomos ingenti ubique rerum accessione productae. Additis Pontificum recentiorum imaginibus, & Cardinalium insignibus, plurimisque aeneis figuris, cum indicibus locupletissimis. Romæ : P. et A. De Rubeis, 1677, I, col.626, no. 14; Cristofori, Francesco. Cronotasi dei cardinali di Santa Romana Chiesa. Rome : Tipografia de Propaganda Fide, 1888, p. 110; "Essai de liste générale des cardinaux. Les cardinaux des 10 premiers siècles". Annuaire Pontifical Catholique 1926. Paris : Maison de la Bonne Presse, 1927, p. 152, no. 18.

Cool Archive

(17) 15. LUCINO (?-?)

Birth. (No date or place found). He is also listed as Luciano.

Education. (No information found).

Cardinalate. First documented as presbyter cardinalis of the title of S. Eusebio in the Roman Council of 853, which ended with the deposition and excommunication of Anastasio, cardinal priest of S. Marcello (who a little later became Antipope Anastasius III, and was later librarian of the Holy Roman Church) (1).

Death. (No date or place found). Buried (no information found).

Bibliography. Cardella, Lorenzo. Memorie storiche de' cardinali della Santa Romana Chiesa. Rome : Stamperia Pagliarini, 1792, I, pt. 1, 49; Chacón, Alfonso. Vitæ, et res gestæ Pontificum Romanorum : et S.R.E. Cardinalium ab initio nascentis Ecclesiae usque ad Clementem IX P. O. M. Alphonsi Ciaconii Ord. Praed. & aliorum opera descriptæ : cum uberrimis notis. Ab Augustino Oldoino, Soc. Jesu recognitae, et ad quatuor tomos ingenti ubique rerum accessione productae. Additis Pontificum recentiorum imaginibus, & Cardinalium insignibus, plurimisque aeneis figuris, cum indicibus locupletissimis. Romæ : P. et A. De Rubeis, 1677, I, col. 636, no. 15; Cristofori, Francesco. Cronotasi dei cardinali di Santa Romana Chiesa. Rome : Tipografia de Propaganda Fide, 1888, p. 149; "Essai de liste générale des cardinaux. Les cardinaux des 10 premiers siècles". Annuaire Pontifical Catholique 1926. Paris : Maison de la Bonne Presse, 1927, p. 152, no. 19.

(1) Cardella, Memorie storiche de' cardinali della Santa Romana Chiesa, I, pt. 1, 49, indicates that he was created cardinal deacon by Pope Gregory IV and that he was promoted to cardinal priest of S. Eusebio by Pope Leo IV. Cardella adds that some believe that he was created cardinal by the latter pope. "Essai de liste générale des cardinaux. Les cardinaux des 10 premiers siècles". Annuaire Pontifical Catholique 1926, p. 152, no. 19, says that undoubtedly, he is the same as Cardinal Luciano (827); or as Cardinal Lucino (844). Cristofori, Cronotasi dei cardinali di Santa Romana Chiesa, p. 149, lists a Cardinal Luciano (?) in 827 (?) and a Cardinal Lucino in 853.

Cool Archive

(18) 16. GIOVINIANO (?-?)

Birth. (No date or place found).

Education. (No information found).

Cardinalate. First documented as presbyter cardinalis of the title of S. Sabina in the Roman Council of 853, which ended with the deposition and excommunication of Anastasio, cardinal priest of S. Marcello (who a little later became Antipope Anastasius III, and was later librarian of the Holy Roman Church).

Death. (No date or place found). Buried (no information found).

Bibliography. Cardella, Lorenzo. Memorie storiche de' cardinali della Santa Romana Chiesa. Rome : Stamperia Pagliarini, 1792, I, pt. 1, 57; Chacón, Alfonso. Vitæ, et res gestæ Pontificum Romanorum : et S.R.E. Cardinalium ab initio nascentis Ecclesiae usque ad Clementem IX P. O. M. Alphonsi Ciaconii Ord. Praed. & aliorum opera descriptæ : cum uberrimis notis. Ab Augustino Oldoino, Soc. Jesu recognitae, et ad quatuor tomos ingenti ubique rerum accessione productae. Additis Pontificum recentiorum imaginibus, & Cardinalium insignibus, plurimisque aeneis figuris, cum indicibus locupletissimis. Romæ : P. et A. De Rubeis, 1677, I, col. 626, no. 16; Cristofori, Francesco. Cronotasi dei cardinali di Santa Romana Chiesa. Rome : Tipografia de Propaganda Fide, 1888, p. 127; "Essai de liste générale des cardinaux. Les cardinaux des 10 premiers siècles". Annuaire Pontifical Catholique 1926. Paris : Maison de la Bonne Presse, 1927, p. 152, no. 20.

Cool Archive

(19) 17. ADRIANO (?-?)

Birth. (No date or place found).

Education. (No information found).

Cardinalate. First documented as presbyter cardinalis of the title of Ss. Vitale, Gervasio e Protasio in the Roman Council of 853, which ended with the deposition and excommunication of Anastasio, cardinal priest of S. Marcello (who a little later became Antipope Anastasius III, and was later librarian of the Holy Roman Church).

Death. (No date or place found). Buried (no information found).

Bibliography. Chacón, Alfonso. Vitæ, et res gestæ Pontificum Romanorum : et S.R.E. Cardinalium ab initio nascentis Ecclesiae usque ad Clementem IX P. O. M. Alphonsi Ciaconii Ord. Praed. & aliorum opera descriptæ : cum uberrimis notis. Ab Augustino Oldoino, Soc. Jesu recognitae, et ad quatuor tomos ingenti ubique rerum accessione productae. Additis Pontificum recentiorum imaginibus, & Cardinalium insignibus, plurimisque aeneis figuris, cum indicibus locupletissimis. Romæ : P. et A. De Rubeis, 1677, I, col. 626, no. 17; Cristofori, Francesco. Cronotasi dei cardinali di Santa Romana Chiesa. Rome : Tipografia de Propaganda Fide, 1888, p. 89; "Essai de liste générale des cardinaux. Les cardinaux des 10 premiers siècles". Annuaire Pontifical Catholique 1926. Paris : Maison de la Bonne Presse, 1927, p. 152, no. 21.

Cool Archive

(20) 18. GIORGIO (?-before 867)

Birth. (No date or place found).

Education. (No information found).

Cardinalate. First documented as presbyter cardinalis of the title of S. Lorenzo in Lucina in the Roman Council of 853, which ended with the deposition and excommunication of Anastasio, cardinal priest of S. Marcello (who a little later became Antipope Anastasius III, and was later librarian of the Holy Roman Church) (1).

Death. Before 867, (no place found). Buried (no information found).

Bibliography. Cardella, Lorenzo. Memorie storiche de' cardinali della Santa Romana Chiesa. Rome : Stamperia Pagliarini, 1792, I, pt. 1, 57; Chacón, Alfonso. Vitæ, et res gestæ Pontificum Romanorum : et S.R.E. Cardinalium ab initio nascentis Ecclesiae usque ad Clementem IX P. O. M. Alphonsi Ciaconii Ord. Praed. & aliorum opera descriptæ : cum uberrimis notis. Ab Augustino Oldoino, Soc. Jesu recognitae, et ad quatuor tomos ingenti ubique rerum accessione productae. Additis Pontificum recentiorum imaginibus, & Cardinalium insignibus, plurimisque aeneis figuris, cum indicibus locupletissimis. Romæ : P. et A. De Rubeis, 1677, I, col. 626, no. 18; Cristofori, Francesco. Cronotasi dei cardinali di Santa Romana Chiesa. Rome : Tipografia de Propaganda Fide, 1888, p. 49; "Essai de liste générale des cardinaux. Les cardinaux des 10 premiers siècles". Annuaire Pontifical Catholique 1926. Paris : Maison de la Bonne Presse, 1927, p. 152, no. 22.

(1) Cristofori, Cronotasi dei cardinali di Santa Romana Chiesa, p. 49, indicates that he was created cardinal in 867.

Cool Archive

(21) 19. GIOVANNI (?-?)

Birth. (No date or place found).

Education. (No information found).

Cardinalate. First documented as presbyter cardinalis of the title of an unknown title in the Roman Council of 853, which ended with the deposition and excommunication of Anastasio, cardinal priest of S. Marcello (who a little later became Antipope Anastasius III, and was later librarian of the Holy Roman Church).

Death. (No date or place found). Buried (no information found).

Bibliography. Cardella, Lorenzo. Memorie storiche de' cardinali della Santa Romana Chiesa. Rome : Stamperia Pagliarini, 1792, I, pt. 1, 57; Chacón, Alfonso. Vitæ, et res gestæ Pontificum Romanorum : et S.R.E. Cardinalium ab initio nascentis Ecclesiae usque ad Clementem IX P. O. M. Alphonsi Ciaconii Ord. Praed. & aliorum opera descriptæ : cum uberrimis notis. Ab Augustino Oldoino, Soc. Jesu recognitae, et ad quatuor tomos ingenti ubique rerum accessione productae. Additis Pontificum recentiorum imaginibus, & Cardinalium insignibus, plurimisque aeneis figuris, cum indicibus locupletissimis. Romæ : P. et A. De Rubeis, 1677, I, col. 626, no. 19; "Essai de liste générale des cardinaux. Les cardinaux des 10 premiers siècles". Annuaire Pontifical Catholique 1926. Paris : Maison de la Bonne Presse, 1927, p. 152, no. 23.

Cool Archive

(22) 20. LEONE (?-before 882)

Birth. (No date or place found).

Education. (No information found).

Cardinalate. First documented as presbyter cardinalis of the title of Ss. Quattro Coronati in the Roman Council of 853, which ended with the deposition and excommunication of Anastasio, cardinal priest of S. Marcello (who a little later became Antipope Anastasius III, and was later librarian of the Holy Roman Church).

Death. Before 882, (no place found). Buried (no information found).

Bibliography. Chacón, Alfonso. Vitæ, et res gestæ Pontificum Romanorum : et S.R.E. Cardinalium ab initio nascentis Ecclesiae usque ad Clementem IX P. O. M. Alphonsi Ciaconii Ord. Praed. & aliorum opera descriptæ : cum uberrimis notis. Ab Augustino Oldoino, Soc. Jesu recognitae, et ad quatuor tomos ingenti ubique rerum accessione productae. Additis Pontificum recentiorum imaginibus, & Cardinalium insignibus, plurimisque aeneis figuris, cum indicibus locupletissimis. Romæ : P. et A. De Rubeis, 1677, I, col. 626, no. 20; Cristofori, Francesco. Cronotasi dei cardinali di Santa Romana Chiesa. Rome : Tipografia de Propaganda Fide, 1888, p. 152; "Essai de liste générale des cardinaux. Les cardinaux des 10 premiers siècles". Annuaire Pontifical Catholique 1926. Paris : Maison de la Bonne Presse, 1927, p. 152, no. 24.

Cool Archive

(23) 21. MARTINO (?-?)

Birth. (No date or place found).

Education. (No information found).

Cardinalate. First documented as presbyter cardinalis of the title of S. Marcello in the Roman Council of 853, which ended with the deposition and excommunication of Anastasio, cardinal priest of S. Marcello (who a little later became Antipope Anastasius III, and was later librarian of the Holy Roman Church).

Death. (No date or place found). Buried (no information found).

Bibliography. Chacón, Alfonso. Vitæ, et res gestæ Pontificum Romanorum : et S.R.E. Cardinalium ab initio nascentis Ecclesiae usque ad Clementem IX P. O. M. Alphonsi Ciaconii Ord. Praed. & aliorum opera descriptæ : cum uberrimis notis. Ab Augustino Oldoino, Soc. Jesu recognitae, et ad quatuor tomos ingenti ubique rerum accessione productae. Additis Pontificum recentiorum imaginibus, & Cardinalium insignibus, plurimisque aeneis figuris, cum indicibus locupletissimis. Romæ : P. et A. De Rubeis, 1677, I, col. 626, no. 21; Cristofori, Francesco. Cronotasi dei cardinali di Santa Romana Chiesa. Rome : Tipografia de Propaganda Fide, 1888, p. 145; "Essai de liste générale des cardinaux. Les cardinaux des 10 premiers siècles". Annuaire Pontifical Catholique 1926. Paris : Maison de la Bonne Presse, 1927, p. 152, no. 25.

Cool Archive

(24) 22. GIOVANNI (?-?)

Birth. (No date or place found).

Education. (No information found).

Cardinalate. First documented as presbyter cardinalis of the title of S. Prisca in the Roman Council of 853, which ended with the deposition and excommunication of Anastasio, cardinal priest of S. Marcello (who a little later became Antipope Anastasius III, and was later librarian of the Holy Roman Church).

Death. (No date or place found). Buried (no information found).

Bibliography. Chacón, Alfonso. Vitæ, et res gestæ Pontificum Romanorum : et S.R.E. Cardinalium ab initio nascentis Ecclesiae usque ad Clementem IX P. O. M. Alphonsi Ciaconii Ord. Praed. & aliorum opera descriptæ : cum uberrimis notis. Ab Augustino Oldoino, Soc. Jesu recognitae, et ad quatuor tomos ingenti ubique rerum accessione productae. Additis Pontificum recentiorum imaginibus, & Cardinalium insignibus, plurimisque aeneis figuris, cum indicibus locupletissimis. Romæ : P. et A. De Rubeis, 1677, I, col. 626, no. 22; "Essai de liste générale des cardinaux. Les cardinaux des 10 premiers siècles". Annuaire Pontifical Catholique 1926. Paris : Maison de la Bonne Presse, 1927, p. 152, no. 26.

Cool Archive

(25) 23. GIOVANNI (?-?)

Birth. (No date or place found).

Education. (No information found).

Cardinalate. First documented as archdeacon cardinalis of the Holy Roman Church in the Roman Council of 853, which ended with the deposition and excommunication of Anastasio, cardinal priest of S. Marcello (who a little later became Antipope Anastasius III, and was later librarian of the Holy Roman Church) (1).

Death. (No date or place found). Buried (no information found).

Bibliography. Cardella, Lorenzo. Memorie storiche de' cardinali della Santa Romana Chiesa. Rome : Stamperia Pagliarini, 1792, I, pt. 1, 58; Chacón, Alfonso. Vitæ, et res gestæ Pontificum Romanorum : et S.R.E. Cardinalium ab initio nascentis Ecclesiae usque ad Clementem IX P. O. M. Alphonsi Ciaconii Ord. Praed. & aliorum opera descriptæ : cum uberrimis notis. Ab Augustino Oldoino, Soc. Jesu recognitae, et ad quatuor tomos ingenti ubique rerum accessione productae. Additis Pontificum recentiorum imaginibus, & Cardinalium insignibus, plurimisque aeneis figuris, cum indicibus locupletissimis. Romæ : P. et A. De Rubeis, 1677, I, col. 626, no. 23; "Essai de liste générale des cardinaux. Les cardinaux des 10 premiers siècles". Annuaire Pontifical Catholique 1926. Paris : Maison de la Bonne Presse, 1927, p. 152, no. 27.

(1) He may be the same as Giovanni, archdeacon cardinalis (867).

Cool Archive

(26) 24. GIOVANNI (?-?)

Birth. (No date or place found).

Education. (No information found).

Cardinalate. First documented as deacon cardinalis of the Holy Roman Church in the Roman Council of 853, which ended with the deposition and excommunication of Anastasio, cardinal priest of S. Marcello (who a little later became Antipope Anastasius III, and was later librarian of the Holy Roman Church).

Death. (No date or place found). Buried (no information found).

Bibliography. Cardella, Lorenzo. Memorie storiche de' cardinali della Santa Romana Chiesa. Rome : Stamperia Pagliarini, 1792, I, pt. 1, 58; Chacón, Alfonso. Vitæ, et res gestæ Pontificum Romanorum : et S.R.E. Cardinalium ab initio nascentis Ecclesiae usque ad Clementem IX P. O. M. Alphonsi Ciaconii Ord. Praed. & aliorum opera descriptæ : cum uberrimis notis. Ab Augustino Oldoino, Soc. Jesu recognitae, et ad quatuor tomos ingenti ubique rerum accessione productae. Additis Pontificum recentiorum imaginibus, & Cardinalium insignibus, plurimisque aeneis figuris, cum indicibus locupletissimis. Romæ : P. et A. De Rubeis, 1677, I, col. 626, no. 24; "Essai de liste générale des cardinaux. Les cardinaux des 10 premiers siècles". Annuaire Pontifical Catholique 1926. Paris : Maison de la Bonne Presse, 1927, p. 152, no. 28.

Cool Archive

(27) 25. NICCOLÒ (ca. 800/827-867)

Birth. Ca. 800/827, Rome. He did not belong to the aristocracy, like his two immediate predecessors, but was not of modest origin. Son of Teodoro, regionario, a notary or one of the defensores, who administered the assets of one of the seven regions of the Church in the city. He is also listed as Nicola.

Education. He received a traditional education in literature and sacred matters, similar to that given to his predecessor Adrian I, Leo III and Sergius II, at home or at the Lateran palace.

Early life. He entered the clergy under Pope Sergius II and was assigned to the offices of the Lateran palace, where he was made subdeacon by that pope; and then deacon by Pope Leo IV.

Cardinalate. First documented as deacon cardinalis of the Holy Roman Church in the Roman Council of 853, which ended with the deposition and excommunication of Anastasio, cardinal priest of S. Marcello (who a little later became Antipope Anastasius III, and was later librarian of the Holy Roman Church). He had the distinction of reading the first ammonitio of the pope in that council. He became Pope Benedict III's principal adviser and had an executive role; the pope, to have him at his side, moved away from the habit of giving precedence to the pope's own kin; Cardinal Niccolò, with other deacons, was among those at the burial of Pope Benedict in St. Peter's on April 7, 858, as the application of a rule established by the pope himself, who had directed that each member of the Roman clergy should be accompanied by the burial group of his "colleagues", which together would recommend to God the soul of the deceased.

Papacy. Elected pope by the unanimous decision of the Roman clergy, the nobles (the Senate), and the people, in the presence of Emperor Louis II, thus complying with what the Constitutio Romana of 824 had stipulated. Consecrated pope on Sunday April 24, 858. Took the name Nicholas I. On April 26, the new pope received the emperor, had dinner with him and admitted him to his spiritual paternity; then Emperor Louis II left the city to go to Tor di Quinto (S. Leucius, at the fifth mile of the Via Flaminia), where the pope joined him. Twice, when he received him and when he left, the emperor subdued himself to the officium stratoris, leading the horse of the pope by the reins, thus renewing the act of Pepin to Pope Stephen II in Ponthion on January 6, 754, a practice, also provided for in the Constitutum Constantini (§ 16), which was seen as a rite of acceptance of vassalage. In the two floods of the Tiber river in October and December 860, the pope assisted the citizens of Rome affected by the disasters. In his first Roman synod in February 861, Pope Nicholas I, reaffirmed the timeliness of the Lateran Synod's decree of 769, which reserved the election of a pontiff to the clergy and the eligibility for the office to only the members of the clergy of Rome; thus, the pope offered his successors a weapon of defense against the "secular" interference in general and especially against interpreting the Constitutio Romana too rigidly. Starting during the Roman synod of autumn 863, Pope Nicholas took at his service Anastasio, particularly but not exclusively for the conduct of relations with the East, which requires knowledge of greek; Anastasio did not simply dictated the correspondence, but also gave voice to the ideas of the pope with his translations of hagiographic texts (like that of the life of St. John the Almoner and also the dedication of the translation of the life of St. Basil the subdeacon Urso, physician of Nicholas); the pair formed by the pope and his secretary was cemented so quickly that sometimes the biographers of Anastasio saw in him the key man of his pontificate: the inspiration of political ideas and ecclesiological essential; it can certainly be attributed to Anastasio the strength and clarity of expression that characterized all the letters of the pope. Pope Nicholas I vigorously asserted the supremacy of the Holy See in the East. He revived the papal jurisdiction over IIlyricum, Byzantine southern Italy and Sicily (which in 732-733 had been transferred by Pope Leo III to the jurisdiction of the patriarch of Constantinople), and when Patriarch Ignatius of Constantinople was forced to abdicate in late 858, and was replaced by the Photius, a layman, the pontiff protested to Emperor Michael III and sent Bishops Radoaldo of Porto and Zaccaria of Anagni as legates Constantinople, asking them to explore the respective legitimacy of Ignatius and Photius, refusing in the meantime to recognize either one as patriarch. When the legates sent a report that favored Patriarch Photius, the pope disavowed them, and after being informed by the followers of Patriarch Ignatius, Pope Nicholas deposed and excommunicated Photius at a synod held in the Lateran palace in August 863. When Emperor Michael III strongly protested, the pope sent him, on September 28, 865, a stinging rebuke, defending his own actions and expounding at length the inalienable rights of the Holy See. Meanwhile, the relations between the Western and the Eastern Churches were even more tested when Pope Nicholas I responded to a request from King Boris I of Bulgaria and sent missionary bishops (among them Bishop Formoso of Porto, future pope) to that kingdom and gave detailed advice to the monarch, often in anti-Byzantine tone, on moral and canonical issues, in Responsiones ad consulta Bulgarorum. To the request from the king to name Formoso archbishop of Bulgaria, the pope responded negatively because Formoso was already bishop of Porto and, according to the canons then in force, it was prohibited for a bishop to move from one see to another. Since Bulgaria was mostly under the spiritual jurisdiction of Constantinople and had recently been evangelized by Byzantine missionaries, Patriarch Photius was angry at the pope's actions. After denouncing the Latin intervention to the patriarchs of the east, Patriarch Photius celebrated a synod in Constantinople in August-September 867, which excommunicated and deposed Pope Nicholas I. By the time the news arrived in Rome, the pope had already died but the sentence he had pronounced on the patriarch and the one that the patriarch had pronounced on him fatefully contributed to the final separation of East and West. When Archbishop Giovanni VIII of Ravenna sought to become independent from Rome and exercised excessive power in his diocese, he was vigorously quelled by the firmness of Pope Nicholas I. After having in vain asked the archbishop several times to appear before a Roman synod to respond primarily for the despotic rule exerted on the populations of the Exarchate and Pentapolis, oppressed by unjust and burdensome taxes, and for the despotic treatment to which he submitted his suffragans, preventing them from communicating directly with Rome, and finally for usurpation of property of the Apostolic See, the pope not only excommunicated him on February 24, 861, but also went to Ravenna in the following summer, to personally organize things, to reorder the administration of the diocese and to do justice, thus forcing the submission of the archbishop on November 18, who was left with nothing but to accept all the conditions imposed by the pope. Pope Nicholas I acted similarly concerning Archbishop Hincmar of Reims; in 864 the pope required him to return to his see the suffragan bishop of Soissons, Rotado, who the archbishop, in an act of sheer arrogance, had deposed and replaced; the pontiff also reminded the archbishop that such a measure could not be taken without the consent of the pope. Another serious question that the pope had to face, solving it positively in favor of the sanctity of marriage, was for the King Lothair II of Lorraine to return to his lawful wife Teutberga, whom he had repudiated under false accusations, annulling the marriage to wed his concubine Valdrada. Pope Nicholas I worked actively in favor of her native city carrying out various public works, such as the reactivation of two aqueducts, the construction of several church buildings, the embellishment of various churches, including S. Maria in Cosmedin and S. Maria Nova (now S. Francesca Romana). He created nine cardinals in three promotions. His pontificate saw the rise of the papal theocracy, based on the principle of dependence on the Church of Rome and its supreme leader, the Supreme Pontiff, of all other Churches and of all other ecclesiastical hierarchs. A man of strong personality, Pope Nicholas I distinguished himself by the breadth of his culture, his indomitable energy, the austerity of life and his pastoral care and also, for his zeal for the good of the Church and of his subjects, so much so, that posterity rightly calls him the Great (1).

Death. November 13, 867, from a stress-induced illness, Rome. Buried in an elegant (eximium) marble mausoleum in the atrium of the Vatican basilica(ante fores basilicæ beati Petri), near the tomb of his predecessor Pope Benedict III. Fragments of his epitaph are preserved in the Vatican grottos (2).

Sainthood. Shortly after his death, his successor Pope Adrian II recommended the participants of the Synod of Troyes, celebrated on May 8, 868, to include the name Pope Nicholas I in the prayers at Mass, but, surprisingly, it was not formally inserted in the Roman Martyrology until 1630 by Pope Urban VIII. His feast is on November 13. The Martyrology says about him: Romæ Nicolai papæ vigore apostolico præstantis.

Bibliography. Bougard, François. "Niccolò I, santo." Enciclopedia dei papi. 3 vols. Roma : Istituto della Enciclopedia italiana, 2000, II, 1-22; Cardella, Lorenzo. Memorie storiche de' cardinali della Santa Romana Chiesa. Rome : Stamperia Pagliarini, 1792, I, pt. 1, 53-54; Chacón, Alfonso. Vitæ, et res gestæ Pontificum Romanorum : et S.R.E. Cardinalium ab initio nascentis Ecclesiae usque ad Clementem IX P. O. M. Alphonsi Ciaconii Ord. Praed. & aliorum opera descriptæ : cum uberrimis notis. Ab Augustino Oldoino, Soc. Jesu recognitae, et ad quatuor tomos ingenti ubique rerum accessione productae. Additis Pontificum recentiorum imaginibus, & Cardinalium insignibus, plurimisque aeneis figuris, cum indicibus locupletissimis. Romæ : P. et A. De Rubeis, 1677, I, col. 626, no. 25; Del Re, Niccolò. "Niccolò I, il Grande, papa, santo." Mondo vaticano. Passato e presente. Città del Vaticano : Libreria Editrice Vaticana, 1995, p. 727-728; "Essai de liste générale des cardinaux. Les cardinaux des 10 premiers siècles". Annuaire Pontifical Catholique 1926. Paris : Maison de la Bonne Presse, 1927, p. 152, no. 29; Gregorovius, Ferdinando. Le tombe dei papi.. Roma : Edizioni del Centauro, 1931. Seconda edizione italiana riveduta e ampliata da C. Huelsen, p. 30, no. 32; Kelly, John Norman Davidson. The Oxford Dictionary of Popes. Oxford ; New York : Oxford University Press, 1986, p. 107-109; Le Liber pontificalis. Paris : E. de Boccard, 1981, 1955. 3 v. : facsims. (Bibliothèque des Écoles françaises d'Athènes et de Rome). Notes: Reprint of the 1955 edition./ Includes indexes./ Vol. 3: "Additions et corrections de L. Duchesne publiées par Cyrille Vogel ... avec L'Histoire du Liber pontificalis dupuis l'édition de L. Duchesne une bibliographie et des tables générales, II, LXVI-LVII, LXXV, 151-172; Montini, Renzo Uberto. Le tombe dei papi. Roma : Angelo Belardetti, 1957. Note: At head of title: Instituto di studi romani, p. 139-140, no. 106; Reardon, Wendy J. The deaths of the popes : comprehensive accounts, including funerals, burial places and epitaphs. Jefferson, N.C. : McFarland & Co., Publishers, 2004, p. 64; Regesta pontificum Romanorum ab conditio Ecclesia. Ad annum post Christum natum MCXCVIII. Graz : Akademische Druck- u. Verlagsanstalt, 1956. 2 v. Reprint. Originally published : Lipsiae : Veit et comp., 1885-1888. Original t.p. included : Regesta pontificum Romanorum ab condita ecclesia : ad annum post Christum natum MCXCVIII. Editionem secundam correctam et auctam edidit Philippus Jaffè ; auspiciis Gulielmi Wattenbach; curaverunt S. Loewenfeld, F. Kaltenbrunner, P. Ewald, I, 341-368.

Webgraphy. Biography by Francois Bougard, in Italian, Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani - Volume 78 (2013), Treccani; biography by Johann Peter Kirsch, The Catolic Encyclopedia; biography, in English, Encyclopaedia Britannica; his image and biography, in English, Wikipedia; biography, in English, Papal Library, Saint Mike; images and biography, in Italian, Santi e Beati; biography, in Norwegian, Den katolske kirke; painting by Raffaele Sanzio, Getty Images, National Gallery, London (it erroneously indicates that the date of the work is circa 860 the painting is a fragment of Raffaele's work "Madonna Ansidei", painted in 1505, which represents St. Nicholas I (or perhaps St. Nicholas of Bari because his vestments are those of a bishop not of a pope) next to the Blessed Virgin); The Ansidei Madonna, Raffaele, 1505, The National Gallery, London; his engraving, Bildarchiv Austria. Die Bildplattform der Österreichischen Nationalbibliothek; his engraving, Bildarchiv Austria. Die Bildplattform der Österreichischen Nationalbibliothek; his engraving, from the same source; Saint Nicolas Ier by Jules Roy, Paris : V. Lecoffre, 1899.

(1) Del Re, "Niccolò I, il Grande, papa, santo." Mondo vaticano. Passato e presente, p. 728, who adds that no better tribute could be made of him than the one written by German chronicler and canonist Abbot Reginon von Prüm (ca. 842-915), who said in his Chronicon: "regibus et tyrannis imperavit, eisque ac si dominus orbis terrarum, auctoritate praefuit; episcopis et sacerdotibus, religiosis ac Domini mandata servantibus humilis, blandus, plus, mansuetus apparuit; irreligiosis ac a recta tramite exorbitantibus terribilis atque austeritate plenus exstitit, ut merito credatur alter Elias Deo suscitante nostris in temporibus exsurrexisse, et si non corpore, tamen spiritu et virtute".
(2) This is the text of his epitaphy, taken from, Montini, Le tombe dei papi, p. 139-140, no. 6:

(Scire volens cur tr)ISTE GENVS MORTALE REPENTE
(quisquis adhuc prop)ERAS EOIS PARTIBVS AVLAE
(templa vel occidu)IS POLLENS AVSTROQVE BEATAE
(axe vela gelido) CARMEN SCRVTARE MEMENTO
conditur hoc aNTRO SACRI SVBSTANTIA CARNIS
praesulis egregii NICOLAI DOGMATE SANCTO
qui fulsit cuncTIS MVNDVM REPLEVIT ET ORBEM
intactis nituit mEMBRIS CASTOQVE PVDORE
quae docuit veRBIS ACTVQVE PEREGIT OPIMO
siderea plenuS MANSIT DOCTVSQVE SOPHIAe
caelorum claRIS QVEM SERVANT REGNA TRIVMPHis
ut vernet sollS PRocerulM PER SAECVLA VATVm

     Montini adds that the the right part of that epitaph is preserved in the Vatican grottos and that the fragment was found in the old sacristy of St. Peter's basilica.

Cool Archive

(28) 26. BENEDETTO (?-?)

Birth. (No date or place found).

Education. (No information found).

Cardinalate. First documented as deacon cardinalis of the Holy Roman Church in the Roman Council of 853, which ended with the deposition and excommunication of Anastasio, cardinal priest of S. Marcello (who a little later became Antipope Anastasius III, and was later librarian of the Holy Roman Church) (1).

Death. (No date or place found). Buried (no information found).

Bibliography. Cardella, Lorenzo. Memorie storiche de' cardinali della Santa Romana Chiesa. Rome : Stamperia Pagliarini, 1792, I, pt. 1, 58; Chacón, Alfonso. Vitæ, et res gestæ Pontificum Romanorum : et S.R.E. Cardinalium ab initio nascentis Ecclesiae usque ad Clementem IX P. O. M. Alphonsi Ciaconii Ord. Praed. & aliorum opera descriptæ : cum uberrimis notis. Ab Augustino Oldoino, Soc. Jesu recognitae, et ad quatuor tomos ingenti ubique rerum accessione productae. Additis Pontificum recentiorum imaginibus, & Cardinalium insignibus, plurimisque aeneis figuris, cum indicibus locupletissimis. Romæ : P. et A. De Rubeis, 1677, I, col. 626, no. 26; Cristofori, Francesco. Cronotasi dei cardinali di Santa Romana Chiesa. Rome : Tipografia de Propaganda Fide, 1888, p. 284; "Essai de liste générale des cardinaux. Les cardinaux des 10 premiers siècles". Annuaire Pontifical Catholique 1926. Paris : Maison de la Bonne Presse, 1927, p. 152, no. 30.

(1) Cristofori, Cronotasi dei cardinali di Santa Romana Chiesa, p. 284, indicates that he was created cardinal in 867 (?).

Cool Archive

(29) 27. LEONZIO (?-?)

Birth. (No date or place found). He is also listed as Leontius; as Leontio; and as Léonce.

Education. (No information found).

Cardinalate. First documented as deacon cardinalis of the Holy Roman Church in the Roman Council of 853, which ended with the deposition and excommunication of Anastasio, cardinal priest of S. Marcello (who a little later became Antipope Anastasius III, and was later librarian of the Holy Roman Church) (1).

Death. (No date or place found). Buried (no information found).

Bibliography. Cardella, Lorenzo. Memorie storiche de' cardinali della Santa Romana Chiesa. Rome : Stamperia Pagliarini, 1792, I, pt. 1, ; Chacón, Alfonso. Vitæ, et res gestæ Pontificum Romanorum : et S.R.E. Cardinalium ab initio nascentis Ecclesiae usque ad Clementem IX P. O. M. Alphonsi Ciaconii Ord. Praed. & aliorum opera descriptæ : cum uberrimis notis. Ab Augustino Oldoino, Soc. Jesu recognitae, et ad quatuor tomos ingenti ubique rerum accessione productae. Additis Pontificum recentiorum imaginibus, & Cardinalium insignibus, plurimisque aeneis figuris, cum indicibus locupletissimis. Romæ : P. et A. De Rubeis, 1677, I, col. 626, no. 27; Cristofori, Francesco. Cronotasi dei cardinali di Santa Romana Chiesa. Rome : Tipografia de Propaganda Fide, 1888, p. 284; "Essai de liste générale des cardinaux. Les cardinaux des 10 premiers siècles". Annuaire Pontifical Catholique 1926. Paris : Maison de la Bonne Presse, 1927, p. 152, no. 31.

(1) Cristofori, Cronotasi dei cardinali di Santa Romana Chiesa, p. 284, indicates that he was created cardinal in 867 (?).

Cool Archive

(30) 28. BENEDETTO (?-?)

Birth. (No date or place found).

Education. (No information found).

Cardinalate. First documented as deacon cardinalis of the Holy Roman Church in the Roman Council of 853, which ended with the deposition and excommunication of Anastasio, cardinal priest of S. Marcello (who a little later became Antipope Anastasius III, and was later librarian of the Holy Roman Church) (1).

Death. (No date or place found). Buried (no information found).

Bibliography. Cardella, Lorenzo. Memorie storiche de' cardinali della Santa Romana Chiesa. Rome : Stamperia Pagliarini, 1792, I, pt. 1, 58; Chacón, Alfonso. Vitæ, et res gestæ Pontificum Romanorum : et S.R.E. Cardinalium ab initio nascentis Ecclesiae usque ad Clementem IX P. O. M. Alphonsi Ciaconii Ord. Praed. & aliorum opera descriptæ : cum uberrimis notis. Ab Augustino Oldoino, Soc. Jesu recognitae, et ad quatuor tomos ingenti ubique rerum accessione productae. Additis Pontificum recentiorum imaginibus, & Cardinalium insignibus, plurimisque aeneis figuris, cum indicibus locupletissimis. Romæ : P. et A. De Rubeis, 1677, I, col. 626, no. 28; Cristofori, Francesco. Cronotasi dei cardinali di Santa Romana Chiesa. Rome : Tipografia de Propaganda Fide, 1888, p. 284; "Essai de liste générale des cardinaux. Les cardinaux des 10 premiers siècles". Annuaire Pontifical Catholique 1926. Paris : Maison de la Bonne Presse, 1927, p. 152, no. 32.

(1) Cristofori, Cronotasi dei cardinali di Santa Romana Chiesa, p. 284, indicates that he was created cardinal in 867 (?).


Top Consistories Catalogs Home

©1998-2023 Salvador Miranda.