Pope Marinus II (died May 946) was the

bishop of Rome A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or offic ...

and ruler of the

Papal States The Papal States ( ; it, Stato Pontificio, ), officially the State of the Church ( it, Stato della Chiesa, ; la, Status Ecclesiasticus;), were a series of territories in the Italian Peninsula under the direct sovereign rule of the pope fro ...

from 30 October 942 to his death. He has also been mistakenly called Martinus III. He ruled during the ''

Saeculum obscurum ''Saeculum obscurum'' (, "the dark age/century"), also known as the Pornocracy or the Rule of the Harlots, was a period in the history of the Papacy during the first two-thirds of the 10th century, following the chaos after the death of Formosu ...

''. He was also erroneously called Martin III leading to the second pope named Martin taking the name

Martin IV Pope Martin IV ( la, Martinus IV; c. 1210/1220 – 28 March 1285), born Simon de Brion, was the head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 22 February 1281 to his death on 28 March 1285. He was the last French pope to have ...

Early career

Marinus was born in Rome, and prior to becoming pope he was attached to the Church of Saint

Cyriacus Cyriacus ( el, Ἅγιος Κυριακός, fl. 303 AD), sometimes Anglicized as Cyriac, according to Christian tradition, is a Christian martyr who was killed in the Diocletianic Persecution. He is one of twenty-seven saints, most of them marty ...

in the

Baths of Diocletian , alternate_name = it, Terme di Diocleziano , image = Baths of Diocletian-Antmoose1.jpg , caption = Baths of Diocletian, with the basilica of Santa Maria degli Angeli e dei Martiri built in the remains of the baths. , map_dot_ ...

. He was said to have encountered

Ulrich of Augsburg Ulrich of Augsburg (890 – 4 July 973), sometimes spelled Uodalric or Odalrici, was Prince-Bishopric of Augsburg in Germany. He was the first saint to be canonized not by a local authority but by the Pope. Life Early years Much of the infor ...

on his visit to Rome in 909, and reportedly predicted Ulrich's eventual appointment as bishop of Augsburg.

Pontificate

Marinus was elevated to the papacy on 30 October 942 through intervention of

Alberic II of Spoleto Alberic II (912–954) was ruler of Rome from 932 to 954, after deposing his mother Marozia and his stepfather, King Hugh of Italy. He was of the house of the counts of Tusculum, the son of Marozia by her first husband, Duke Alberic I of Spoleto ...

. This period is known as ''

'' due to the power of Alberic and his relatives over the

popes The pope ( la, papa, from el, πάππας, translit=pappas, 'father'), also known as supreme pontiff ( or ), Roman pontiff () or sovereign pontiff, is the bishop of Rome (or historically the patriarch of Rome), head of the worldwide Cathol ...

. Marinus concentrated on administrative aspects of the papacy, and sought to reform both the secular and regular clergy. He extended the appointment of Archbishop

Frederick of Mainz Frederick (died October 954) was the Archbishop of Mainz from 937, following the late Hildebert, until his death. He was a son of Reginar, Duke of Lorraine. Immediately, Frederick acted as an opponent of Otto the Great, one of the most consis ...

papal vicar A vicar (; Latin: '' vicarius'') is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior (compare "vicarious" in the sense of "at second hand"). Linguistically, ''vicar'' is cognate with the English pre ...

and missus dominicus throughout

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

and

Francia Francia, also called the Kingdom of the Franks ( la, Regnum Francorum), Frankish Kingdom, Frankland or Frankish Empire ( la, Imperium Francorum), was the largest post-Roman barbarian kingdom in Western Europe. It was ruled by the Franks dur ...

. Marinus later intervened when the bishop of Capua seized without authorization a church which had been given to the local

Benedictine monks , image = Medalla San Benito.PNG , caption = Design on the obverse side of the Saint Benedict Medal , abbreviation = OSB , formation = , motto = (English: 'Pray and Work') , foun ...

. In fact, throughout his pontificate, Marinus favoured various monasteries, issuing a number of bulls in their favour. Marinus occupied the palace built by

Pope John VII Pope John VII ( la, Ioannes VII; c. 650 – 18 October 707) was the bishop of Rome from 1 March 705 to his death. He was an ethnic Greek, one of the Byzantine popes, but had better relations with the Lombards, who ruled much of Italy, than with ...

atop the Palatine Hill in the ruins of the ''Domus Gaiana''. He died in May 946 and was succeeded by Agapetus II.Mann, pg. 223

Name

Because of the similarity of the names Marinus and Martinus, Marinus I and Marinus II were, in some sources, mistakenly called Martinus II and Martinus III.

Notes

References

* Mann, Horace K., ''The Lives of the Popes in the Early Middle Ages, Vol. IV: The Popes in the Days of Feudal Anarchy, 891-999'' (1910)

External links

Opera Omnia by Migne Patrologia Latina with analytical indexes
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Marinus 2 Popes Italian popes 946 deaths Year of birth unknown 10th-century popes Burials at St. Peter's Basilica