Leo was aSicilian by birth,[2] the son of a man named Paul. He may have ended up being among the many Sicilian clergymen in Rome due to the attacks of theCaliphate on Sicily in the mid-7th century.[3] Leo was known as an eloquent preacher who was interested in music, and noted for his charity to the poor.[4]
Pope Agatho died on 10 January 681, and Leo waselected on 16 April.[5] He was notconsecrated until 17 August 682.[6] The reason may have been due to Agatho's negotiations with EmperorConstantine IV regardingimperial control of papal elections. Constantine IV had already promised Agatho to abolish or reduce the tax that the Popes had been paying to the imperial treasury at the time of their consecration, an imperial policy that had been in force for about a century.[1]
Leo's short-lived pontificate did not allow him to accomplish much. Notably, he confirmed the acts of theSixth Ecumenical Council (680–681) againstMonothelitism. After Leo had notified the emperor that the decrees of the council had been confirmed, he made them known to the people of the West. In letters written to theVisigothic king, bishops, and nobles, he explained what the council had effected, and he called upon the bishops to subscribe to its decrees.[1] During this council,Pope Honorius I wasanathematized for tolerating Monothelism. Leo took great pains to make it clear that in condemning Honorius, he did so not because Honorius taught heresy, but because he was not active enough in opposing it.[7] In accordance with the papal mandate, a synod was held at Toledo (684) in which theThird Council of Constantinople was accepted.[1]
Leo put an end to the attempts ofArchbishops of Ravenna to break from the control of the Bishop of Rome, but also abolished the tax it had been customary for them to pay when they received thepallium.[8] In apparent response toLombard raids, Leo transferred the relics of some martyrs from thecatacombs to churches inside the city walls. He dedicated two churches, St. Paul's and Sts. Sebastian and George.[8] Leo also reformedGregorian Chant and composed several sacred hymns for theDivine Office.
Leo died on 28 June 683, and was succeeded byBenedict II.[6] He was originally buried in his own monument; however, some years after his death, his remains were put into a tomb that contained the first four of his papal namesakes.[9]
^abcd One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Mann, Horace Kinder (1910). "Pope St. Leo II". In Herbermann, Charles (ed.).Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 9. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
