Pope Romanus ( 867–897) 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 August to November 897. His short reign occurred during a period of partisan strife in the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

, amid the violence and disorder in

central Italy Central Italy ( it, Italia centrale or just ) is one of the five official statistical regions of Italy used by the National Institute of Statistics (ISTAT), a first-level NUTS region, and a European Parliament constituency. Regions Central I ...

. His pontificate ended when he was deposed and confined to a monastery.

Family and early career

Little is known of Romanus's background. He was born in

Gallese Gallese is an Italian ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Viterbo, from Viterbo. It was taken by Duke Thrasimund II of Spoleto in 737 or 738, at which time it was essential to communications between Rome and Ravenna and had a large ...

, near

Civita Castellana Civita Castellana is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Viterbo, north of Rome. Mount Soracte lies about to the south-east. History Civita Castellana was settled during the Iron Age by the Italic people of the Falisci, who called it "F ...

. His father was called Constantine. According to Anura Gurugé, Romanus was supposedly the nephew of

Pope Marinus I Pope Marinus I (; died 15 May 884) was the bishop of Rome and ruler of the Papal States from 882 until his death. Controversially at the time, he was already a bishop when he became pope, and had served as papal legate to Constantinople. He was ...

, who had also come from Gallese. Romanus was installed as the

cardinal priest A cardinal ( la, Sanctae Romanae Ecclesiae cardinalis, literally 'cardinal of the Holy Roman Church') is a senior member of the clergy of the Catholic Church. Cardinals are created by the ruling pope and typically hold the title for life. Col ...

San Pietro in Vincoli San Pietro in Vincoli (; Saint Peter in Chains) is a Roman Catholic titular church and minor basilica in Rome, Italy, best known for being the home of Michelangelo's statue of Moses, part of the tomb of Pope Julius II. The '' Titulus S. Petr ...

, in Rome, in 867.

Papacy

In January 897,

Pope Stephen VI Pope Stephen VI ( la, Stephanus VI; died August 897) was the bishop of Rome and ruler of the Papal States from 22 May 896 to his death. He is best known for instigating the Cadaver Synod, which ultimately led to his downfall and death. Family ...

held what is known as the

Cadaver Synod The Cadaver Synod (also called the Cadaver Trial; la, Synodus Horrenda) is the name commonly given to the ecclesiastical trial of Pope Formosus, who had been dead for about seven months, in the Basilica of St. John Lateran in Rome during Januar ...

. He had the body of

Pope Formosus Pope Formosus (896) was the bishop of Rome and ruler of the Papal States from 6 October 891 until his death on 4 April 896. His reign as pope was troubled, marked by interventions in power struggles over the Patriarchate of Constantinople, the ...

, the rival of his ally, Lambert of Spoleto, exhumed and tried for "perjury, violating the canons prohibiting the translation of bishops, and coveting the papacy." After finding him guilty, the synod annulled all of Formosus' acts and ordinations. Formosus' body was reburied in a common grave, and then thrown in the river

Tiber The Tiber ( ; it, Tevere ; la, Tiberis) is the third-longest List of rivers of Italy, river in Italy and the longest in Central Italy, rising in the Apennine Mountains in Emilia-Romagna and flowing through Tuscany, Umbria, and Lazio, where ...

. Supporters of Formosus rebelled, and seven months after the synod, Stephen VI was deposed, and died soon after in prison. Romanus was elected to succeed Stephen VI in August 897. He was generally considered to be pro-Formosan, and annulled all the acts and decrees of his predecessor. This was criticised by the 15th-century historian Bartolomeo Platina, who wrote that "these popelings studied nothing else but to extinguish the memory and honour of their predecessors". During his short pontificate, he granted the

pallium The pallium (derived from the Roman ''pallium'' or ''palla'', a woolen cloak; : ''pallia'') is an ecclesiastical vestment in the Catholic Church, originally peculiar to the pope, but for many centuries bestowed by the Holy See upon metropol ...

to Abbot Vitalis of Farfa, appointed him as the

patriarch of Grado This is a list of the Patriarchs of Grado (north-eastern Italy).
''

privilege upon the See of Grado. Romanus also confirmed the possessions of the bishops of

Girona Girona (officially and in Catalan , Spanish: ''Gerona'' ) is a city in northern Catalonia, Spain, at the confluence of the Ter, Onyar, Galligants, and Güell rivers. The city had an official population of 103,369 in 2020. Girona is the capital ...

and Elna of their sees. His short rule was regarded as a virtuous one by contemporary historian Flodoard.

Death and aftermath

Romanus' reign as pope ended in November 897, when it is said that "he was made a monk", a term used when a pope is deposed and often confined to a monastery. It is unknown whether he was deposed by supporters of his predecessor, Stephen VI, or by pro-Formosan supporters, who wanted to replace him with a pope who would more actively vindicate Formosus. Romanus' date of death is unknown. The power struggle between supporters of Formosus and those of Stephen continued for over ten years; Romanus was succeeded by Theodore II, who was only pope for twenty days, during which time he had Formosus' body reburied, and held a synod annulling the Cadaver Synod. This was reaffirmed by John IX who held synods reaffirming that of Theodore II, and he further banned the trial of people after their death. In turn, Sergius III later annulled the synods of Theodore II and John IX, and reinstated the validity of the Cadaver Synod.

References

Bibliography

* * * * *

External links

Opera Omnia by Migne Patrologia Latina with analytical indexes
{{DEFAULTSORT:Romanus Popes Italian popes Roman Catholic monks Italian Christian monks 9th-century archbishops Year of birth unknown Year of death unknown 9th-century popes Burials at St. Peter's Basilica