POPE NICHOLAS II

by | Feb 26, 2022 | Popes

One of the outstanding papal reformers was Pope Nicholas II, Gerhard of Burgundy. Born between 990 and 995, he grew up near one of the chief reform-minded abbeys of France, Cluny. Certainly, he was exposed to the attitudes this abbey promoted. As a young priest,...

ANTIPOPE BENEDICT X

by | Feb 23, 2022 | Popes

Several months ago, this series addressed the Tusculum and Crescenti families. These two familes controlled the Papacy for about 150 years. The last of the family popes was Pope Benedict IX. We thought that, when the Germans began to interfere with the papacy, the two...

POPE STEPHEN IX, THE 154TH POPE

by | Feb 12, 2022 | Popes

Pope Stephen IX was the 154th pope He was head of the Roman Church for a short period, 2 August 1057 – 29 March 1058. Born Frederick of Lorraine, he was a younger member of the Ardennes-Verdun dynasty. This was a politically active family in the mid-11th century. He...

SAINT BLAISE

by | Feb 10, 2022 | Saints

Life for Bishop St. Blaise, in the third century was very difficult. In 312, the two surviving emperors, Constantine I and Licinius, wrote the Edict of Toleration, Constantine had just won the decisive battle of Milvian Bridge, defeating the third emperor, Maxentius....

POPE VICTOR II, ONE OF THE LAST GERMAN POPES

by | Feb 3, 2022 | Popes

Pope Benedict XVI was the first German pope in 950 years. Pope Victor II was the last German pope before then. His death, in 1057, marked the end of a close working relationship between the Holy Roman Empire and the Catholic. Born Gebhard of Dolinstein-Hirshberg,...