Pope Gregory V (996-999)

The First German Pope

The most visible novelty is his origin. The previous popes of the 10th century were almost all Roman, Italian, or connected to Roman factions. Gregory V comes from the transalpine imperial world: he belongs to the Salian family through his father Otto of Worms, Duke of Carinthia and Margrave of Verona; he is related to Otto III; he was educated within the sphere of the imperial chapel.^[9][10]

This fact does not mean that the Church became "German." It means that the Apostolic See, after the violence of John XII, Leo VIII, Benedict V, John XIII, and Benedict VI, was now embedded in an Ottonian system where the emperor claimed to guarantee the order of Rome. Gregory V is a Roman pope by his office, universal by his mission, but foreign to the old local aristocracy by his origin and network.

A Very Short but Very Dense Pontificate

Gregory V did not reign for a full three years. He was consecrated on May 3, 996; he died in February or March 999: Mann gives February 4, the most common modern chronology gives February 18, and Treccani lists a total of February 4, 11, 12 or 18, or even March 12 (see "Death and burial").^{[11][12][13][14][15]} Yet within this brief interval, major European issues were concentrated: imperial coronation, the Reims conflict, French royal marriage, discipline of German metropolises, privileges of Cluny and Reichenau, the Canterbury affair, Roman justice, and the schism of John XVI.

Reading this matrix line by line reveals a single trajectory: a pope chosen by the emperor, consecrated in Rome, deposed by the Crescenzi, restored by the emperor, who nevertheless governs the Church of Rome at the crossroads of Burgundy, France, and Saxony.

The Pope of the Transition to the Millennium

The pontificate took place on the eve of the millennium, but one should not project a simplistic apocalyptic panic onto it. The real issue was institutional. Who governs Rome? The Roman people and clergy? The great families like the Crescenzi? The Ottonian emperor? The pope himself? Gregory V gave an imperfect but decisive answer: the pope is elected within the Church of Rome, but relies on the emperor to resist the Roman nobility.

This solution prepared both the greatness and the crises of the 11th century. On one hand, it saved Rome from local aristocratic capture. On the other, it accustomed the Empire to intervening in pontifical affairs. A century later, the Investiture Controversy would arise precisely from this ambiguity: can temporal authority protect the Church without ending up possessing it?

The pattern that synthesizes this path—imperial chaplain at Worms, Roman election, coronation of Otto III, exile under Crescentius, John XVI schism, imperial restoration, death in Rome—shows a single curve: the papacy moving out of Roman families into Ottonian tutelage. This curve would carry, a century later, the great reform of Gregory VII.

Holy See, Treccani, Mann

The official Holy See record provides the minimal reference points: rank, dates, secular name, and origin.^[16] It is useful for the Church’s current reception but tells almost nothing else.

The most detailed modern source available directly is the entry by Wolfgang Huschner in Treccani’s Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani. It covers the family background, education in Worms, stages of the election, synods, privileges, the John XVI affair, decisions against Robert II and Giselher of Magdeburg, and uncertainties about his death.^[17] The Catholic Encyclopedia by Horace K. Mann offers an older, very readable Catholic synthesis with the same core narrative.^[18]

Chronicles, Regesta, and Papal Records

Mann refers to medieval sources: the Liber Pontificalis, bulls preserved in the Patrologia Latina, chronicles of Thietmar of Merseburg, Leo of Ostia, annals of Hildesheim and Quedlinburg, and lives of saints Adalbert, Abbon of Fleury, and Nilus of Rossano.^[19] Treccani points to the Regesta Imperii by Böhmer-Zimmermann and Richer of Reims edited in the Monumenta Germaniae Historica.^[20]

The dossier is therefore better than that of many obscure 10th-century popes. It is not just a list of names: one follows acts, travels, synods, letters, and conflicting interests between Rome, Pavia, Ravenna, Aachen, Reims, Canterbury, Farfa, and Cluny.

Caution Regarding Accounts of Violence

The episodes of 998 are attested, but their interpretation requires caution. Medieval sources describe the mutilation of John XVI, the procession of humiliation, and the execution of Crescentius. Treccani attributes to Gregory V the initiative for the mutilation of John Philagathos, to eliminate a potential rival.^[21] Mann, older and more apologetic, reports the facts with less political analysis.^[22]

The article must therefore avoid two extremes: portraying Gregory V as a mere adolescent manipulated by Otto, or as a bloodthirsty pope. He was a very young pontiff, trained in a genuine canonical culture, but immersed in a Rome where power was defended by force. The holiness of the Church does not consist in denying these shadows; it consists in understanding how Providence passes apostolic authority through sometimes harsh human instruments.

A Family Connected to Imperial Power

Bruno was the son of Count Otto of Worms, Duke of Carinthia and Marquis of Verona at times, and a close relative of Otto III.^[23] This genealogy places him at the center of the imperial aristocracy. His brother Conrad succeeded as Duke of Carinthia; his nephew Conrad was elected King of Germany in 1024 and crowned emperor in 1027.^[24]

This detail explains Otto III’s trust. The young emperor did not choose a stranger: he appointed a relative, a chaplain, a man of his household, capable of speaking to imperial circles and understanding the Roman renewal program that Otto already carried in seed form.

Education in Worms

Treccani situates Bruno’s education at the cathedral school of Worms, under the episcopate of Ildebaldo (Hildebold), who was also chancellor to Otto II and Otto III for the regions north of the Alps.^[25] The future pope was therefore not a mere prince placed in Rome. He received a serious clerical education, rooted in the episcopal schools of the Empire.

The same entry notes that among his transalpine contemporaries, he could be considered a cultivated man, capable of reading and meditating on the Church Fathers, especially Saint Gregory the Great.^[26] The choice of the name “Gregory” was therefore not just a number on a list: it expressed a spiritual reference. Bruno wished to place himself under the patronage of the great Roman pope, pastor, liturgist, doctor, and ruler.

“Capable of reading and meditating on the Church Fathers, especially Gregory I.” — Wolfgang Huschner, Treccani, French translation^[27]

Imperial Chaplain

Under Otto III, Bruno entered the imperial chapel.^[28] In the 10th century, this chapel was not merely a liturgical group. It was a training ground for governance: clerics were formed there who knew how to write, administer, negotiate, judge, accompany the emperor, and produce official acts.

This training gave Gregory V a profile different from several previous Roman popes. He arrived in Rome with a genuine chancery and synodal culture. This will be seen in his acts: he confirmed, suspended, convened, threatened, restored, granted palliums, and arbitrated conflicts. His pontificate was short but not inactive.

The Romans Request a Candidate from Otto III

In the spring of 996, John XV died as Otto III was descending into Italy. A Roman delegation joined the emperor in Ravenna to inform him of the vacancy.^[29] According to Mann, the Romans asked Otto to name the person he wished them to elect.^[30] This formula is crucial: it does not completely eliminate the Roman election, but it demonstrates Rome’s political dependence on the emperor.

Otto designated Bruno, his relative and chaplain. He sent him to Rome accompanied by Archbishop Willigis of Mainz and Bishop Hildebold of Worms.^[31] The imperial candidate was then welcomed, elected by the clergy and people, and consecrated in early May under the name Gregory V.^[32]

A Roman Election under Imperial Patronage

Both elements must be considered together. If one says only “Otto appoints the pope,” the ecclesiastical fact of election by the clergy and people of Rome is overshadowed. If one says only “Rome elects freely,” the political pressure is erased. Gregory V was elected through a hybrid procedure: canonical in its Roman form, imperial in its impetus.

This ambiguity is a constant of the Ottonian papacy. It emerges from the domination of Roman clans by accepting a more powerful protector; but this protector now chooses the candidates. The freedom of the Church is preserved against Crescentius, but diminished before the Empire.

The Coronation of May 21, 996

The first major act of Gregory V was the coronation of Otto III on May 21, 996, Ascension Day.^[33][34] The youth of both men is striking: the pope was about twenty-five years old; the emperor was fifteen.^[35] They embodied a youthful attempt at Christian renewal of the Empire.

The next day, at the pope’s intercession, Otto III pardoned Crescentius Nomentanus, lord of the city, who had been condemned to exile.^[36] This act of clemency would prove tragic. Crescentius would be precisely the one to expel Gregory from Rome a few months later.

The Synod of Saint Peter in May 996

During Otto III’s stay in Rome, a synod was held at Saint Peter’s under the presidency of the pope and the emperor.^[37] Two issues dominated: the schism of Reims and the return of Saint Adalbert of Prague to his see. Reims was then one of the major ecclesiastical affairs of the Frankish West: Arnulf, the Carolingian archbishop, had been deposed; Gerbert of Aurillac, future Sylvester II, occupied the position with the support of the Capetians.

Gregory V’s choice was legal. Even though Otto III and Robert II favored Gerbert, the pope ruled in favor of Arnulf, whose local deposition seemed canonically questionable to him.^[38] This point is important: Gregory was not simply Otto’s agent. On Reims, he defended the pontifical procedure against the political interests of his allies.

Erluin of Cambrai and Episcopal Discipline

In the same context, Gregory V consecrated Erluin of Cambrai, whose confirmation had been blocked by the Reims schism.^[39] The matter seems minor, but it reveals Rome’s concrete role: resolving local situations when a metropolitan conflict obstructs normal ecclesiastical order.

The medieval papacy was not merely an abstract idea of primacy. It was a court, an appeal, a center of confirmation. Gregory V, despite his imminent exile, was already acting as such.

Privileges and Mutual Intercessions

During these weeks, pope and emperor granted several privileges to Italian and transalpine recipients. Treccani notes that they appear alternately as intercessors in each other’s documents.^[40] This reciprocity expresses the Ottonian ideal: the empire serves the Church, the Church crowns and guides the empire.

The ideal is noble; the practice fragile. When the emperor left Italy in August 996, he entrusted Marquis Hugh of Tuscany and Conrad of Spoleto and Camerino with the military support of the pope.^[41] The very need for this protection shows that Rome was not pacified.

Crescentius Takes Back Rome

In the autumn of 996, the Romans, led by Crescentius Nomentanus, expel Gregory V from the city.^[42] The pope attempts twice to re-enter by force; both attempts fail. He then retreats to Spoleto.^[43]

Crescentius is not a mere bandit. He represents the claim of the Roman aristocracy to govern the city and keep the pope within its orbit. The conflict therefore is not just between a pope and a rebel: it opposes two models of Rome, the Ottonian imperial Rome and the local noble Rome.

Abbo of Fleury and the Reims Case

At Spoleto, Gregory receives Abbo of Fleury, sent by Robert II of France to discuss the Reims schism.^[44] Abbo is one of the great scholarly abbots of his time. His presence shows that even in exile, the pope remains the center of canonical resolution.

Gregory gives Abbo the pallium (white woolen band worn over the shoulders, insignia of an archbishop in communion with Rome) intended for Arnulf and charges him with obtaining from King Robert the restitution of his see.^[45] This is a courageous decision because it goes against the interests of Gerbert of Aurillac, Robert’s protégé and close to Otto. The pope here chooses canonical regularity over immediate political expediency.

Ravenna and Pavia

At the end of 996, Gregory goes to Ravenna to secure the support of Archbishop John and the suffragan bishops.^[46] From there, he proceeds to Pavia, where he presides in early February 997 over a synod attended notably by the archbishops of Milan and Ravenna, several suffragans, and the bishop of Pavia.^[47]

The choice of Pavia is both political and ecclesiological. Outside Rome, the pope gathers northern Italy to show that he is not confined to his exile. The city of Rome is closed to him; the authority of the Apostolic See continues.

Robert II and Bertha of Burgundy

The synod at Pavia demands that Robert II of France justify himself, under threat of excommunication, for his marriage to Bertha of Burgundy, judged incestuous due to both blood and spiritual kinship.^[48][49] The case is a classic example of medieval matrimonial discipline: the king is not above the canons.

Gregory V’s severity does not stem from a cold legalism. The marriage of princes involves the peace of kingdoms, succession, dynastic legitimacy, and the Church’s public witness. By calling Robert to order, an exiled pope asserts that spiritual authority does not depend on the military force he wields in Rome.

Arnulf, Gerbert, and the French Bishops

The synod also addresses the Reims case. Gregory V suspended the French bishops who had followed the faction favoring Gerbert and supports the reinstatement of Arnulf.^[50][51] This decision is not a judgment on Gerbert’s intellectual genius. The former master of Reims is one of the most brilliant minds of the 10th century and will become pope as Sylvester II. But Gregory considers that Gerbert’s position on the see of Reims rests on an irregular procedure.

The Catholic greatness of this case lies precisely in this distinction: a man’s intelligence is not enough to legitimize a usurpation of a see. The pope defends canonical order even against a remarkable scholar, even against the interests of the king of France, and even against the preferences of the emperor.

Magdeburg, Naples, and Papal Elections

The synod also excommunicates the archbishop of Naples for his irregular election; summons Giselher of Magdeburg to Rome to answer for his contested transfer from Merseburg to Magdeburg; and finally renews the norm of Pope Symmachus forbidding any decision on a pope’s succession while he is still alive.^[52]

This last point is particularly significant. In a Rome accustomed to factions, reminding that one does not prepare the succession of a living pope is to defend the dignity of the office against clan scheming. Gregory V, driven out by a Roman faction, knows exactly what this rule is meant to prevent.

John Philagathos of Rossano

While Gregory was staying in northern Italy, Crescentius and a Byzantine envoy named Leo urged John Philagathos, Archbishop of Piacenza, to accept a papal election against Gregory V.^[53] Philagathos was an Italo-Greek from Rossano, a former advisor to Empress Theophano and a well-connected figure at the Ottonian court.^[54]

His acceptance, in February–March 997, sparked a schism.^[55] Choosing the name John XVI presented him as pope, but the Church would regard him as an antipope. The crisis was all the more serious because Philagathos was not an uneducated adventurer: he knew the court, the Byzantines, the Ottonians, and southern Italy.

The Byzantine Background

The involvement of a Byzantine envoy in the affair is not a mere exotic detail. Otto III was then seeking a marital alliance with Constantinople; southern Italy remained Byzantine in several respects; and the Italo-Greek circles played an important cultural and diplomatic role.^[56]

Antipope John XVI thus embodied a geopolitical temptation: to use Rome against the Germanic Empire, or at least to loosen Ottonian control through a Roman-Byzantine game. Gregory V, the Ottonian pope, became the obstacle to be removed.

The Request for Imperial Intervention

After his expulsion, Gregory intensified his relations with the imperial court and asked Otto III to intervene in Italy.^[57] Archbishop Landulf of Milan traveled to Aachen in December 996; papal and imperial legates circulated; in spring 997, the court decided on a new Italian expedition.^[58]

The situation was theologically uncomfortable but historically clear. The legitimate pope had to call on the emperor to recover Rome. Apostolic freedom was defended by a temporal power that, at the same time, made it dependent.

Otto III Returns to Italy

In December 997, Otto III crossed the Alps and met Gregory V in Pavia. They celebrated Christmas there and consulted together on measures to take against Crescentius and John XVI.^[59] The entourage included major figures: the pope’s father, the Duke of Bavaria, the margraves of Meissen and Tuscany, Italian and transalpine bishops, Odilo of Cluny, and Gerbert of Aurillac.^[60]

In February 998, the imperial army marched on Rome. John XVI fled; Crescentius locked himself in Castel Sant'Angelo.^[61] The pope and emperor entered the city without notable resistance.

The Terrible Fate of John XVI

John XVI was found in a fortified tower near Rome by a detachment of imperial troops. Sources report that his eyes were gouged out and his nose, ears and tongue cut off; he was then brought back to Rome and formally deposed at a Roman synod in May 998 presided over by Gregory V in the presence of Otto III.^[62][63]

The public humiliation that followed was one of the harshest scenes of the 10th century: the antipope was paraded through the streets on a donkey, seated backwards, in a spectacle designed to make his deposition visible.^[64] Modern sensibilities immediately see cruelty here. The Catholic historian must not soften it. He must only recall that this violence belonged to a political world where public punishment served to symbolically break a claim.

Nil of Rossano and the Voice of Holiness

Hagiographic tradition recounts the intervention of Saint Nil of Rossano, an Italo-Greek compatriot of John Philagathos, who reportedly reproached Otto and Gregory for the harsh treatment inflicted on the antipope.^[65] Mann mentions the lives of Saint Nil among the sources for the pontificate.^[66]

This point is spiritually valuable. The legitimacy of Gregory V does not imply that all measures taken against John XVI were edifying. The Church can recognize the legitimate pope and, at the same time, hear in the voice of a holy monk an evangelical reminder: justice without mercy can become vengeance.

“Mercy triumphs over judgment.” — James 2:13, a spiritual principle illuminating the John XVI case^[67]

The Death of Crescentius

Crescentius resisted in Castel Sant'Angelo. On April 28, 998, after a prolonged siege, he attempted in vain to formally surrender; he was captured, beheaded, and his body displayed, while several of his supporters were hanged.^[68] Otto III and Gregory V agreed on the treatment to be inflicted on him.^[69]

Here again, one must face the fact. The papacy did not emerge from Roman noble domination through peaceful debate; it emerged by the imperial sword. This is not an eternal model of Christian governance, but a harsh phase in the history of salvation, where God preserves His Church through imperfect instruments.

Increased Activity in Rome

After the recapture of Rome, the pope's activity intensifies. Treccani notes this based on the number of papal and imperial diplomas as well as judicial documents preserved.^[70] Gregory V does not merely return to his city: he governs.

He confirms properties, settles disputes, acts alongside Otto III in judicial proceedings, and supports certain monastic and ecclesiastical institutions. This phase corrects the image of a pope who was only exiled and then restored. The final months of his pontificate are administratively fruitful.

Cluny, Reichenau, and the Monasteries

In Rome, the monastery of Cluny receives from Gregory V, through the emperor’s intercession, confirmation of its properties, exemption, and the right to freely elect its abbot.^[71] Similar confirmations concern Saint Ambrose of Milan, Lorsch, Reichenau, Montmajour, Besalú, Villeneuve-lès-Avignon, and Saint Maximin of Trier.^[72]

This monastic policy has a long-lasting impact. The privileges of exemption, especially for Cluny, contribute to building a monastic network directly linked to Rome. This is one of the foundations of the 11th-century reform: monasteries less dependent on local lords, better able to carry out liturgical and moral reform.

Reichenau and Liturgical Signs

In April 998, Gregory consecrated the abbot Alawich of Reichenau and granted him, at Otto’s intercession, the right to wear sandals and a dalmatic during divine office, imitating Roman abbots.^[73] Future abbots of Reichenau would also have the right to pontifical consecration.

The detail may seem ceremonial; it is not only that. In the medieval world, liturgical vestments express a hierarchy of communion. Granting Reichenau Roman insignia symbolically Romanizes a major imperial monastery.

Benevento, Ravenna, and the Metropolises

In spring 998, Gregory confirmed to Archbishop Alfan of Benevento the metropolitan dignity, granted him the pallium, and the right to consecrate fourteen bishops whose sees are precisely listed.^[74] He also settled the Ravenna case in favor of Gerbert of Aurillac, now transferred to that see after abandoning Reims.^[75]

These decisions depict a papacy that governs not only Rome. It organizes southern Italy, northern Italy, Burgundy, France, and the Empire. Gregory V was a brief pope, but truly European.

The Roman Synod of January 999

In January 999, a synod was held at Saint Peter’s under the presidency of Gregory V, in the presence of Otto III. The pope called it a concilium generale; archbishops of Ravenna and Capua and twenty-six bishops participated.^[76] The majority came from the ecclesiastical province of Rome and Italy, but there were also bishops from Burgundy and the transalpine regions of the Empire.^[77]

The word “general” here does not mean an ecumenical council in the later sense. It designates a broad assembly where the pope deals with affairs of several kingdoms and provinces.

Seven Years of Penance for Robert and Bertha

The synod demanded that Robert II of France immediately separate from Bertha, under penalty of excommunication, and imposed seven years of penance on both spouses.^[78] It also suspended Bishop Erchambald of Tours, who had celebrated the marriage, as well as the bishops who participated in the ceremony, until they appeared in Rome.^[79]

The decision illustrates a medieval truth often forgotten: the papacy does not intervene only in doctrinal disputes; it also protects the public truth of marriage. Even the king of the Franks must answer to the Church when his union violates the canons.

Merseburg and Magdeburg

The same synod ruled for the restoration of the diocese of Merseburg, suppressed in 981 without sufficient synodal or conciliar decision.^[80] This decision concerned the actions of Giselher of Magdeburg, whose transfer from Merseburg to Magdeburg was contested.

The matter touches on the missionary policy of the Empire toward the East, notably Poland. Treccani emphasizes that Giselher defended the eminent rights granted to Magdeburg under Otto I, but hindered the new orientations of Otto III.^[81] Gregory V thus found himself once again at the crossroads of canon law and imperial strategy.

Ælfric receives the pallium

Around 997, Archbishop Ælfric of Canterbury traveled to Rome to receive the pallium and consult the pope about replacing secular canons with monks in Canterbury Cathedral.^[82] Mann reports that Gregory V placed his own pallium on him as a sign of honor and recommended that he install in his monastery men of the order that the blessed Gregory had once commanded Augustine to place there.^[83]

“He placed his own pallium on Ælfric as a sign of honor, and recommended that he install in his monastery men of the order that the blessed Gregory had once commanded Augustine to place there.” — Horace K. Mann, Catholic Encyclopedia, French translation^[84]

This gesture links Gregory V to his model, Gregory the Great. The German pope of 996–999 remembered that Christian England was born from a Roman mission. In a life dominated by the Empire and Roman violence, this English episode recalls the Church’s proper mission: not merely to arbitrate powers, but to nurture and reform local Churches.

A papacy of networks

Canterbury, Reims, Cluny, Reichenau, Ravenna, Benevento, Aachen: the map of the pontificate is remarkably broad. Gregory V did not have time to be a great reforming pope, but he already lived in an interconnected Western Church, where Rome received appeals, granted palliums, confirmed possessions, and settled disputes.

This network foreshadows Sylvester II. Gregory’s successor, Gerbert of Aurillac, would more explicitly embody the intellectual and European dimension of the Ottonian papacy. But Gregory V laid several of the foundations.

An early and debated death

Gregory V died very young. Treccani lists the variants given by the sources: February 4, 11, 12 and 18, and March 12, 999.^[85] The German NDB entry gives February 18, 999^[86], as does Schaff^[87]; the Universalium mirror of the Britannica entry, the only text directly readable, likewise gives "died Feb. 18?, 999"^[88]. The Holy See indicates the end of the pontificate as February or March 999.^[89]

Some sources, notably the Vita of Nil, suggested a violent death, but Treccani clarifies that no evidence supports this.^[90] The German NDB entry likewise speaks of unprovable rumors about his early death.^[91] In the absence of evidence, no certain cause can therefore be established.^[92]

Near Gregory the Great

Otto III had Gregory V buried at Saint Peter’s, near the tomb of Saint Gregory the Great.^[93] The detail is significant, as it corresponds to the name chosen by Bruno and the inspiration Treccani attributes to him. The young German pope rests beside the old Roman pope whose work he had studied.

The symbol is almost a lesson from Ignispedia: the papacy is not an ethnicity, a family, a city, or a party. A Carinthian trained in Worms can become the successor of Peter, choose the name of a 6th-century Roman, govern the Franks, the English, the Lombards, the Germans, and the Italians, and then die in Rome as bishop of the universal Church.

“Otto III had him buried at Saint Peter’s, near the tomb of Gregory I.” — Wolfgang Huschner, Treccani, French translation^[94]

A real authority, but dependent

Gregory V vigorously defends Roman jurisdiction: Reims cannot be settled without the pope; Robert II cannot violate marriage canons; Giselher must answer for his transfer; papal elections must not be prepared during the lifetime of a pope; monasteries can be protected by Roman exemption.

But this authority materially depends on Otto III. Without the emperor, Gregory does not retake Rome. Without the imperial army, Crescentius and John XVI hold the city. The pontificate thus shows a doctrinally elevated, legally active papacy, but politically fragile.

A warning before the Gregorian reform

The pontificate foreshadows the great question of the 11th century. The Church needs to be free from Roman families, simony, irregular transfers, and royal marriages contrary to the canons. But if it relies too much on the emperor to be free, it risks another servitude.

Gregory V is not yet Gregory VII. He does not formulate the Dictatus papae, does not lead the Investiture Controversy, does not do Canossa. But he belongs to the direct prehistory of this liberation: his pontificate shows the problem before the reform gives it a more radical answer.

An imperfect pope in an indestructible Church

The Catholic reader may be disturbed by the violence of 998. They should be. The history of the Church is not a stained glass window without blood or dust. But the same record also shows an astonishing continuity: amid factions, the Church continues to judge according to the canons, to confer the pallium, to protect monasteries, to call kings back to legitimate marriage, to organize sees, and to bury its shepherd alongside the apostles.

“You are Peter, and on this rock I will build my Church, and the gates of Hell shall not prevail against it.” — Gospel according to Saint Matthew 16:18, liturgical translation^[95]

This is precisely what makes these secondary popes useful. They are not all shining saints; they often show, more humbly, that the institution willed by Christ passes through centuries where its guardians are young, dependent, sometimes harsh, but where the apostolic mission does not disappear.

• Pope John XIII (965-972) — Roman pope of the first Ottonian stabilization.
• Pope Benedict VI (973-974) — Ottonian pope assassinated in the Crescenzi crisis.
• Pope Leo VIII (963-965) — borderline case of pontifical legitimacy under Otto I.
• Pope Benedict V (964-965) — Roman pope deposed by Otto I and exiled to Hamburg.
• Pope Sylvester II (999-1003) — formerly Gerbert of Aurillac, successor of Gregory V.
• The Gregorian Reform — the 11th-century response to ambiguities between Empire and papacy.