In 931, the Roman aristocrat Marozia succeeded in having her son elected pope, a young man in his early twenties who took the name John XI. According to the Liber pontificalis, John XI was the child of the late Pope Sergius III (904-911), with whom Marozia had had a relationship in her youth.
We are publishing a summer series on the 13 popes who bore the name Leo before the current pontiff. The seventh episode focuses on Pope Leo VII (936-939).
A mere figurehead, the new pope delegated all temporal power attached to the papacy to his all-powerful mother, who even became queen of Italy after a clever marriage in 932 to King Hugh of Arles, the brother of her previous husband, Guy of Tuscany. With John XI, she planned to become empress...
But this marriage would lead to Marozia's downfall. Her other son, Alberic II, the fruit of her first marriage to Duke Alberic I of Spoleto and heir to this influential family, took a very dim view of this union. He took advantage of the growing hostility of the Roman people towards this “barbarian” ruler and his scandalous wife.
With the support of the people, he managed to drive Hugh of Arles out of Rome and overthrow his mother, before sending her to spend the rest of her days in a monastery. As for his half-brother, then pope, the Duke of Spoleto spared him but imprisoned him in the Lateran Palace. He ran the affairs of the Holy See until the early death of John XI in December 935.
A political puppet, but not a spiritual one
A Benedictine monk, Leo VII, was elected in early 936 against this backdrop of considerable weakening of papal prerogatives. With no political power, the new bishop of Rome meekly accepted this tutelage, which earned him the reputation of a “courtier pope.” This is evident in the way he addresses his “beloved spiritual son Alberic, glorious prince and senator” in certain official documents.
Apart from purely religious matters, Leo VII could do nothing but obey, but this did not make him inactive. This son of St. Benedict encouraged the reform of monasticism according to the Cluniac model and had several monasteries rebuilt in Latium, notably at St. Paul Outside the Walls and Subiaco.
A humble and peaceful man
This reform certainly served the interests of his guardian, who believed it would give him greater control over the area around Rome, but it also had diplomatic advantages. The ties forged by Leo VII with Cluny led to the reconciliation of Alberic II and the King of Italy, Hugh of Arles. Consequently, the latter gave one of his daughters in marriage to Alberic.
Leo VII's brief pontificate was a period of peace and economic development, a rare occurrence in the 10th century.
Despite the political leader of Rome having control over the Holy See, Leo VII seems to have been a pope who was appreciated by his peers—although, as is often the case, sources from this period are scarce.
The historian and poet Flodoard of Reims left a particularly admiring portrait of the pope, whom he visited at the Lateran. In one of his poems, he describes him as a brilliant intellectual with a “candid soul.” According to him, he was particularly humble and uninterested in the “great honors” attached to his office. Finally, preferring to listen rather than speak, he devoted himself to “constant prayer.” Leo VII died in 939 after a reign of just over three years.
