Editing Pope Stephen VII

{{short description|Head of the Catholic Church from 929 to 931}}

{{Redirect|Stephen VII|the Moldavian ruler|Ștefan Tomșa}}
{{Pope Stephen ToP Dab|VII}}
{{Infobox Christian leader
| type = Pope
| honorific-prefix = [[List of popes|Pope]]
| name = Stephen VII
| title = [[Bishop of Rome]]
| birth_name = Stephanus de Gabrielli
| term_start = February 929
| term_end = 15 March 931
| church = [[Catholic Church]]
| predecessor = [[Pope Leo VI|Leo VI]]
| successor = [[Pope John XI|John XI]]
| birth_date = 
| birth_place = [[Rome]], [[Papal States]]
| death_date = c. 15 March 931
| death_place = Rome, Papal States
| previous_post = [[Sant'Anastasia|Cardinal-Priest of Sant'Anastasia]] (928-929)
| other = Stephen
}}
'''Pope Stephen VII''' ({{langx|la|Stephanus VII}}; died 15 March 931)<ref>Archibald Bower, ''The History of the Popes: from the foundation of the See of Rome to A.D. 1758'' (1845), pg. 311</ref> was the [[bishop of Rome]] and nominal ruler of the [[Papal States]] from February 929 to his death in 931. A candidate of the infamous [[Marozia]], his pontificate occurred during the period known as the ''[[Saeculum obscurum]]''.

==Election==
Stephen was a Roman<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
  | pages = 247–248
  | volume = I
  | year= 1479
  | url = https://archive.org/details/thelivesofthepop01platuoft
   | access-date= 2013-04-25
}}</ref> by birth, the son of [[Germanic peoples|Germanic]] ([[Goths|Goth]]) Theodemundus/Theudemund.<ref name="m189">Mann, pg. 189</ref> He was the [[cardinal-priest]] of [[Basilica di Sant'Anastasia al Palatino|St Anastasia]] in [[Rome]]. He was probably handpicked by [[Marozia]], the true ruler of Rome during the ''[[Saeculum obscurum]]'', to become [[pope]] as a stop-gap measure until her own son [[Pope John XI|John]] was ready to assume the role.<ref name="m189"/>

==Pontificate==
Very little is known about Stephen's pontificate. During his two years as pope, Stephen confirmed the privileges of a few religious houses in France and Italy.<ref name="m189"/> As a reward for helping free Stephen from the oppression of [[Hugh of Arles]], Stephen granted Cante di Gabrielli the position of papal governor of [[Gubbio]], and control over a number of key fortresses.<ref>Collegio araldico, ''Rivista, Volume 5'' (1907), pg. 49</ref> Stephen was also noted for the severity with which he treated clergy who strayed in their morals.<ref>DeCormenin, Louis Marie; Gihon, James L., ''A Complete History of the Popes of Rome, from Saint Peter, the First Bishop to Pius the Ninth'' (1857), pg. 287</ref> He was also, apparently, according to a hostile Greek source from the twelfth century, the first pope who went around clean shaved whilst pope.<ref>Mann, pg. 190</ref>

Stephen died around 15 March 931, and was succeeded by Marozia's son [[Pope John XI | John XI]].

==References==
{{Reflist}}
* Mann, Horace K., ''The Lives of the Popes in the Early Middle Ages, Vol. IV: The Popes in the Days of Feudal Anarchy, 891-999'' (1910)
* {{CathEncy|wstitle=Pope Stephen (VII) VIII}}

{{s-start}}
{{s-rel|ca}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Pope Leo VI|Leo VI]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Pope]]|years=929–931}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Pope John XI|John XI]]}}
{{s-end}}

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

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stephen 07}}
[[Category:Popes]]
[[Category:Italian popes]]
[[Category:Bishops of Anagni]]
[[Category:931 deaths]]
[[Category:Year of birth unknown]]
[[Category:10th-century popes]]
[[Category:Burials at St. Peter's Basilica]]