Pope Benedict VI (Latin:Benedictus VI; died June 974) was thebishop of Rome and ruler of thePapal States from 19 January 973 to his death in 974. His brief pontificate occurred in the political context of the establishment of theHoly Roman Empire, during the transition between the reigns ofOtto I andOtto II, incorporating the struggle for power of Roman aristocratic families such as theCrescentii.
The son of a Roman of German ancestry named Hildebrand,[1] Benedict was born inRome in the region calledSub Capitolio (in what was the old 8th region of Augustan Rome, theForum Romanum). Prior to becomingpope, he was thecardinal deacon of the church ofSaint Theodore.[2]
On the death ofPope John XIII in September 972, the majority of the electors who adhered to the imperial faction chose Benedict VI to be his successor. He was not consecrated until January 973, due to the need to gain the approval of theHoly Roman emperor,Otto I.[3] Installed as pope under the protection of Otto I, Benedict was seen as a puppet of the emperor by the local Roman aristocracy who resented the emperor's dominance in Roman civil and ecclesiastical affairs.[4]
Record of Benedict VI's reign as pope is scant. There is a letter dated to Benedict's reign fromPilgrim of Passau, asking for Benedict to confer on him thepallium, and make him a bishop so that he could continue his mission to convert theHungarian people toChristianity. However, the response from Benedict is considered to be a forgery.[5] Benedict VI is also known to have confirmed privileges assumed by certain monasteries and churches. At the request ofKing Lothair andQueen Emma of France, Benedict placed the monastery of Blandin under papal protection. There is also apapal bull from Benedict in which Frederick,archbishop of Salzburg, and his successors are namedpapal vicars in the formerRoman provinces of Upper and LowerPannonia andNoricum; however, the authenticity of this bull is also disputed.[6]
Otto I died soon after Benedict VI's election in 973, and with the accession ofOtto II, troubles with the nobility emerged in Germany. With the new emperor so distracted, a faction of the Roman nobility opposed to the interference of the Ottonian emperors in Roman affairs, took advantage of the opportunity to move against Benedict VI. Led byCrescentius the Elder and Cardinal-DeaconFranco Ferrucci, who had been the preferred candidate of the anti-Ottonian faction,[7] Benedict was taken in June 974, and imprisoned in theCastel Sant'Angelo, at that time a stronghold of the Crescentii.[8] Ferrucci was then proclaimed as the new pope, taking the nameBoniface VII.
Hearing of the overthrow of Benedict VI, Otto II sent an imperial representative, Count Sicco, to demand his release. Unwilling to step down, Boniface ordered a priest named Stephen to murder Benedict while he was in prison, strangling him to death.[9][10] Boniface VII is today considered anantipope, withBenedict VII as the legitimate successor of Benedict VI.
