Pope benedict viii biography

Pope Benedict VIII was the 143rd pope and chosen after the short reign of antipope Gregory VI. He was Italian and ruled as pope during the 11th century. This article looks at his life as pope and the time before.

Early Life

Before becoming pope, Benedict VIII was a young man born into a noble family.

Known as the counts of Tusculum, they lived in Latium and controlled much of that area. He used the name Theophylactus and also Teofilatto di Tuscolo, which was his personal name.

The pope received his first appointment in 1001 and became the Cardinal Bishop of Porto.

Pope Benedict VII - Wikipedia

That same year, he became a full cardinal. He spent much of his life working there before becoming pope.

Opposition and Antipope

Though chosen as the next pope in May of 1012, Benedict VIII did not take the throne for several months due to opposition from Gregory VI. Gregory VI used force and threats to make the real pope leave Rome.

He would then take the throne as an antipope and reign until December of the yea Pope Benedict VIII - 143rd Pope - PopeHistory.com KUG