Editing Pope Sergius II

{{Short description|Head of the Catholic Church from 844 to 847}}
{{Infobox Christian leader 
|type = Pope
|honorific-prefix=[[List of popes|Pope]]
|name=Sergius II
|title = [[Bishop of Rome]]
|church = [[Catholic Church]]
|image = 
|birth_name=
|term_start=January 844
|term_end=27 January 847
|predecessor=[[Pope Gregory IV|Gregory IV]]
|successor=[[Pope Leo IV|Leo IV]]
|birth_date=
|birth_place=[[Rome]], [[Papal States]]
|death_date=27 January 847
|death_place=
|other=Sergius}}

'''Pope Sergius II''' ({{langx|la|Sergius II}}; died 27 January 847) was the [[bishop of Rome]] and ruler of the [[Papal States]] from January 844 to his death in 847. Sergius II's pontificate saw the [[Arab raid against Rome]] as well as the city's redevelopment.

==Rise==
Born to a noble family, Sergius was educated in the ''schola cantorum'' and ordained [[cardinal-priest]] of the Church of Sts. Martin and Sylvester by [[Pope Paschal I]]. Under [[Pope Gregory IV]], he became archpriest.<ref name=Mann>[http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/13728c.htm Mann, Horace. "Pope Sergius II." The Catholic Encyclopedia] Vol. 13. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1912. 14 September 2017</ref>

At a preliminary meeting to [[Papal selection before 1059|designate a successor]] to Gregory IV, who died in January 844, Sergius was nominated by the aristocracy, while the people of Rome declared for the deacon [[Antipope John VIII|John]]. The opposition was suppressed, with Sergius intervening to save John's life. John was, however, shut up in a monastery, and Sergius was duly [[episcopal consecration|consecrated]], without seeking ratification of the Frankish court.<ref name=Mann/> Emperor [[Lothair I]], however, disapproved of this abandonment of the [[Constitutio Romana]] of 824, which included a statute that no pope should be consecrated until his election had imperial approval. He sent an army under his son [[Louis II of Italy|Louis]], the recently appointed [[king of Italy]], to re-establish his authority. The Church and the emperor reached an accommodation, with Sergius crowning Louis as king,<ref name="EB1911">{{Cite EB1911|wstitle=Sergius#Sergius II|display=Sergius § Sergius II|volume=24|page=667}}</ref> but the pope did not accede to all the demands made upon him.

==Pontificate==
Sergius contributed to urban redevelopment in [[Rome]], improving churches, aqueducts, and the Lateran Basilica.<ref name=Mann/> He and his brother, Benedict, funded their building plans by selling appointments to various church positions to the highest bidder.<ref>[http://www.spirituality.org/is/235/pope_102.asp "The 102nd Pope", ''Spirituality.org'', Diocese of Bridgeport]{{better source needed|date=January 2019}}</ref>

During his pontificate, the outskirts of Rome were ravaged, and the churches of [[Old St. Peter's Basilica|St. Peter]] and [[Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls|St. Paul]] were sacked by Arabs, who also approached [[Portus]] and [[Ostia Antica (archaeological site)|Ostia]] in August 846.<ref name="EB1911"/> During the raid, he and the people of Rome looked on helplessly as they hid behind the [[Aurelian Walls]].<ref>{{cite book|author1=Piers Paul Read|title=The Templars|date=31 Dec 2012|publisher=Hachette UK|isbn=9781780225982|page=iv}}{{better source needed|date=January 2019}}</ref> Despite having been forewarned of the intentions of the raiders, Sergius is seen as having not acted adequately enough to prepare for that which eventuated.<ref>{{cite book|author1=Paul Collins|title=The Birth of the West: Rome, Germany, France, and the Creation of Europe in the Tenth Century|date=4 Mar 2014|publisher=PublicAffairs|isbn=9781610393683|pages=46–7|edition=illustrated, reprint}}</ref>

Sergius died while negotiating between the [[patriarchs of Aquileia]] and [[patriarch of Grado|Grado]].<ref>[https://www.britannica.com/biography/Sergius-II-pope Sergius II]</ref> He was succeeded by [[Pope Leo IV|Leo IV]].

==Popular culture==
Pope Sergius was portrayed by [[John Goodman]] in the 2009 film ''[[Pope Joan (2009 film)|Pope Joan]]''.

==References==
{{reflist}}
{{catholic|title=Pope Sergius II}}

==Sources==
{{Portal|Biography|Christianity|History}}
*Cheetham, Nicolas, ''Keepers of the Keys'', New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1983. {{ISBN|0-684-17863-X}}
*{{cite book|last= Davis|first=Raymond|title=The Lives of the Ninth-century Popes (Liber Pontificalis): The Ancient Biographies of Ten Popes from A.D. 817–891|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=q7EuWhDYxM4C|year=1995|publisher=Liverpool University Press|isbn=978-0-85323-479-1|pages=71–98}}
*{{cite book|last=Mann|first=Horace Kinder|title=The Lives of the Popes in the Early Middle Ages|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MHpJAAAAYAAJ|volume=II|year=1906|publisher=Kegan Paul, Trench, Trübner|location=London|pages=232–257}}

==External links==
* [http://www.documentacatholicaomnia.eu/01_01_0844-0847-_Sergius_II.html Opera Omnia by Migne Patrologia Latina with analytical indexes]

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{{s-rel|ca}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Pope Gregory IV|Gregory IV]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=Pope|years=844–847}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Pope Leo IV|Leo IV]]}}
{{s-end}}

{{Popes}}
{{Catholicism}}
{{History of the Catholic Church}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sergius 02}}
[[Category:Italian popes]]
[[Category:Popes]]
[[Category:847 deaths]]
[[Category:9th-century archbishops]]
[[Category:Year of birth unknown]]
[[Category:9th-century popes]]
[[Category:Burials at St. Peter's Basilica]]