Editing Pope Leo VII

{{Short description|Head of the Catholic Church from 936 to 939}}

{{Infobox Christian leader
| type = Pope
| honorific-prefix = [[List of popes|Pope]]
| name = Leo VII
| title = [[Bishop of Rome]]
| church = [[Catholic Church]]
| image = 
| birth_name = 
| term_start = 3 January 936
| term_end = 13 July 939
| predecessor = [[Pope John XI|John XI]]
| successor = [[Pope Stephen VIII|Stephen VIII]]
| birth_date = 
| death_date = 13 July 939
| previous_post = [[San Sisto Vecchio|Cardinal-Priest of San Sisto]] (8 April 933-3 January 936)
| other = Leo
}}

'''Pope Leo VII''' (died 13 July 939) was the [[bishop of Rome]] and nominal ruler of the [[Papal States]] from 3 January 936 to his death.

== Election ==
Leo VII's election to the papacy in 936, after the death of [[Pope John XI]],<ref>9th edition (1880s) of the [[Encyclopædia Britannica]]</ref><ref>{{Citation
  | last = Platina
  | first = Bartolomeo
  | author-link = Bartolomeo Platina
  | title = The Lives of the Popes From The Time Of Our Saviour Jesus Christ to the Accession of Gregory VII
  | publisher = Griffith Farran & Co.
  | location = London
  | page = 239
  | volume = I
  | year= 1479
  | url = https://archive.org/stream/thelivesofthepop01platuoft#page/n275/mode/2up
   | access-date= 2013-04-25
}}</ref> was secured by [[Alberic II of Spoleto]], the ruler of [[Rome]] at the time. Alberic wanted to choose the pope so that the papacy would continue to yield to his authority. Leo was the priest of the church of [[San Sisto Vecchio]] in Rome, thought to be a [[Benedictine]] monk. He had little ambition towards the papacy, but consented under pressure.

==Pontificate==
As pope, Leo VII reigned for only three years. Most of his [[papal bull|bulls]] were grants of privilege to monasteries, especially including the [[Abbey of Cluny]].<ref>[http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/09160a.htm Mann, Horace. "Pope Leo VII." The Catholic Encyclopedia] Vol. 9. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1910. 4 November 2017</ref> Leo called for [[Odo of Cluny]] to mediate between Alberic and King [[Hugh of Italy]]. Odo was successful in negotiating a truce after arranging a marriage between Hugh's daughter Alda and Alberic. Leo VII also appointed Archbishop [[Frederick of Mainz]] as a reformer in Germany. Leo allowed Frederick to drive out [[Jews]] that refused to be baptized, but he did not endorse the forced baptism of Jews.<ref>''Popes Through The Ages'' by Joseph Brusher S. J.</ref>

Leo VII died on 13 July 939, and was interred at [[St. Peter's Basilica]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.catholic-hierarchy.org/bishop/blene.html|title=Pope Leo VII (Leone ) [Catholic-Hierarchy]|website=www.catholic-hierarchy.org}}</ref> He was succeeded by [[Stephen VIII]].

== References ==
<references/>
* [http://www.documentacatholicaomnia.eu/01_01_0936-0939-_Leo_VII.html Opera Omnia by Migne Patrologia Latina with analytical indexes]

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{{s-bef|before=[[Pope John XI|John XI]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Pope]]|years=936–939}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Stephen VIII]]}}
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{{Popes}}
{{Catholicism}}
{{History of the Catholic Church}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Leo 07}}
[[Category:Popes]]
[[Category:939 deaths]]
[[Category:Year of birth unknown]]
[[Category:10th-century popes]]
[[Category:Benedictine popes]]
[[Category:Burials at St. Peter's Basilica]]