Pope Valentine ( la, Valentinus; died 10 October 827) was the

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

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 ...

for two months in 827. He was unusually close to his predecessor, Eugene II, rumoured to be his son or his lover, and became

pope 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 ...

before being

ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the denominational hierarchy composed of other clergy) to perform va ...

as a priest. He was a nobleman and elected by nobility, which later became the custom.

Career

Born in Rome in the region of the

Via Lata The Via del Corso is a main street in the historical centre of Rome. It is straight in an area otherwise characterized by narrow meandering alleys and small piazzas. Considered a wide street in ancient times, the Corso is approximately 10 metres w ...

, Valentine was the son of a

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...

noble called Leontius. Showing an early aptitude for learning, he was moved from the school attached to the

Lateran Palace The Lateran Palace ( la, Palatium Lateranense), formally the Apostolic Palace of the Lateran ( la, Palatium Apostolicum Lateranense), is an ancient palace of the Roman Empire and later the main papal residence in southeast Rome. Located on St. ...

and, according to the ''

Liber Pontificalis The ''Liber Pontificalis'' (Latin for 'pontifical book' or ''Book of the Popes'') is a book of biographies of popes from Saint Peter until the 15th century. The original publication of the ''Liber Pontificalis'' stopped with Pope Adrian II (867� ...

'', was made a

deacon A deacon is a member of the diaconate, an office in Christian churches that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions. Major Christian churches, such as the Catholic Churc ...

Pope Paschal I Pope Paschal I ( la, Paschalis I; died 824) was the bishop of Rome and ruler of the Papal States from 25 January 817 to his death in 824. Paschal was a member of an aristocratic Roman family. Before his election to the papacy, he was abbot of St. ...

(817–824). His biographer in the ''

Liber pontificalis The ''Liber Pontificalis'' (Latin for 'pontifical book' or ''Book of the Popes'') is a book of biographies of popes from Saint Peter until the 15th century. The original publication of the ''Liber Pontificalis'' stopped with Pope Adrian II (867� ...

'' praises his piety and purity of morals, which won him the favor of Paschal I, who raised him to the rank of

archdeacon An archdeacon is a senior clergy position in the Church of the East, Chaldean Catholic Church, Syriac Orthodox Church, Anglican Communion, St Thomas Christians, Eastern Orthodox churches and some other Christian denominations, above that o ...

. He also was clearly favoured by Paschal's successor, Eugene II, to the point where rumours were circulated that Valentine was really Eugene's son. According to Louis-Marie DeCormenin, other rumours declared that Valentine and Eugene were involved in an illicit relationship. With the death of Eugene II, Valentine was acclaimed as pope by the Roman clergy, nobility and people. They took him from the

Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore The Basilica of Saint Mary Major ( it, Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore, ; la, Basilica Sanctae Mariae Maioris), or church of Santa Maria Maggiore, is a Major papal basilica as well as one of the Seven Pilgrim Churches of Rome and the larges ...

and installed him in the

, ignoring his protests. In their haste, they enthroned him before he was

a priest. This was an unusual reversal of the normal proceedings, and in fact was the first time it had happened in the recorded history of the

papacy 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 ...

, although it would be repeated during the pontificate of

Benedict III Benedict III may refer to: * Benedict III, Archbishop of Esztergom (died 1276) * Pope Benedict III Pope Benedict III ( la, Benedictus III; died 17 April 858) was the bishop of Rome and ruler of the Papal States from 29 September 855 to his deat ...

. On the following Sunday, he was formally

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

St. Peter's Basilica The Papal Basilica of Saint Peter in the Vatican ( it, Basilica Papale di San Pietro in Vaticano), or simply Saint Peter's Basilica ( la, Basilica Sancti Petri), is a church built in the Renaissance style located in Vatican City, the papal e ...

. There were no imperial representatives present during the election, and Valentine had no opportunity to ratify his election with the

Carolingian emperor The Carolingian Empire (800–888) was a large Frankish-dominated empire in western and central Europe during the Early Middle Ages. It was ruled by the Carolingian dynasty, which had ruled as kings of the Franks since 751 and as kings of the Lom ...

, as he was dead within five weeks, dying on 10 October 827.

Legacy

The election of Valentine was another sign of the increased influence the Roman nobility was having in the papal electoral process. Not only had they managed to get one of their own elected, but they also took part in the election itself. The

Lateran Council of 769 The Lateran Council of 769 was a synod held in the Basilica of St. John Lateran to rectify perceived abuses in the papal electoral process which had led to the elevation of the antipopes Constantine II and Philip. It also condemned the rulings ...

, under Stephen III, had mandated that the election of the pope was to be the responsibility of the Roman clergy only, and that the nobility could only offer their respects after the pope had been chosen and enthroned. This council's edict had been abrogated, however, with the Ludowicianum of 817, which provided that the Roman lay nobility would participate in papal elections. This gradual encroachment into the papal electoral process would reach its nadir during the tenth century, when the papacy became the plaything of the Roman aristocracy.Mann, pg. 185

Notes

References

* Mann, Horace K., ''The Lives of the Popes in the Early Middle Ages, Vol. II: The Popes During the Carolingian Empire, 795–858'' (1906) * DeCormenin, Louis Marie; Gihon, James L., ''A Complete History of the Popes of Rome, from Saint Peter, the First Bishop to Pius the Ninth'' (1857) * Davis, Raymond, Lives of the Ninth-Century Popes, (Liverpool: Liverpool University Press, 1995)

External links

Vita Operaque by Migne Patrologia Latina with analytical indexes
{{DEFAULTSORT:Valentine Popes Italian popes 827 deaths Year of birth unknown 9th-century popes Burials at St. Peter's Basilica