Who Was the Worst Pope?

There have been 266 popes over the past two millennia. Some of them have been good (I hear a lot of people like Pope Francis), but it’s more fun to discuss the bad ones. One of my favorites is Pope Benedict IX.

Benedict was born as Theophylactus around the year 1012. His father was Count of Tusculum and two of his uncles had served as popes. As a member of a prominent family, Theophylactus gained the papacy through his father’s political maneuverings and ample bribes rather than any sort of merit or theological expertise. He was 20 years old.

Now, there are many accusations about what Benedict did as pope. They include rape, murder, and “other unspeakable acts of violence and sodomy.” There are also claims that he was the first gay pope. It’s important to remember that history is written by the victors, and colorful propaganda is more likely to be recorded than mundane details of daily governance. All of that makes it hard to know exactly what he did during his reign, but seeing how hated he was among the clergy (and everyone else), many of the stories are probably true.

Four years into his papacy, Benedict was kicked out of Rome. Luckily for him, Emperor Conrad II of the Holy Roman Empire supported him and Benedict was able to return to the city. He was expelled again in 1044. This time, the clergy elected another pope to replace him, Pope Sylvester III.

Benedict did not take kindly to being replaced. Less than a year later, he returned to Rome with an army and kicked out Sylvester. This became Benedict’s second term as pope. No other pope in history has served more than one term.

But after going through all that trouble, Benedict realized that he didn’t actually liked being pope. Everyone hated him and made his life difficult. On top of that, he was 32 years old by this point and decided that he wanted to get married (which makes me doubt the allegation that he was gay).

Benedict consulted his godfather, John Gratian. Gratian was a pious priest and did not like the disgrace that his godson brought to the church. They made a deal where Gratian would reimburse Benedict’s “election expenses” (bribes) and Benedict would abdicate, appointing Gratian as Pope Gregory VI.

After a month-long second term, Benedict happily retired and left Rome. Meanwhile, Gregory discovered that the clergy didn’t take kindly to him effectively buying the papacy, even if it was “for a good cause.” Pope Sylvester III’s supporters started lobbying that Sylvester should be brought back. On top of that, Benedict’s marriage proposal was rejected and he decided to return to the papacy.

With all the chaos, the clergy asked the Holy Roman Emperor, Henry III, to step in. Henry crossed the Alps and called a meeting with Sylvester and Gregory. Sylvester was stripped of his title; Gregory was forced to resign. A new pope, Clement II, was elected instead.

Clement II died on his way back to Rome a few months later. Benedict seized the Lateran Palace in Rome and proclaimed himself pope once again. So not only is he the only pope to have multiple terms, he had three of them!

The next year (1048), Benedict was chased out of Rome and a new pope was elected. Benedict never regained the papacy, and died in the winter of 1055/1056. Between his misconduct in office and his multiple terms as pope, he left behind a legacy of infamy that makes him a strong contender for the title of “Worst Pope Ever.”