Pope Stephen X
The pontificate of Stephen X marks a step forward in the
fight for reform. Preceding popes had struck hard at simony and clerical
marriage. Now the ax began to swing at the root--lay control of church
offices. It is true that the strong hand and good heart of Henry III had
rescued the papacy from irresponsible Roman lords. Still imperial control
of the papacy was dangerous, and lay control of any church position from
pope to abbot was not only an evil, but a root of evils.
At the death of Victor II the situation favored
a move toward papal independence. Henry IV was a small boy. His mother,
the empress-regent Agnes, was not likely to raise too great a stir if a
pope were elected without waiting for her approval. Then too, the Romans
acted shrewdly. They elected Cardinal Frederick, abbot of Monte Cassino
and brother of Godfrey, duke of Lower Lorraine and Tuscany. If anyone could
make an independent election stick, it would be a clergyman with such very
powerful connections.
The Romans' choice was good in many ways. Frederick
was the son of Gozelon, duke of Lower Lorraine. After studies at St. Lambert's
in Liege, Frederick became a canon, and then archdeacon of that Church.
St. Leo IX made him chancellor and librarian of the Apostolic See. He became
an important aid to the great reforming pope. St. Leo sent him to Constantinople
on the mission which ended so sadly in the Eastern Schism. On his return,
Frederick was attacked by a robber baron and stripped of all the treasures
given to him by Emperor Constantine. Then, learning that Emperor Henry
III was angry with him, Frederick retired to Monte Cassino and became a
monk. Elected abbot, he was consecrated by Pope Victor II and made cardinal-
priest of St. Chrysogonus.
Frederick was consecrated pope as Stephen X because
his election took place on August 2, 1057, Pope St. Stephen's feast day.
Stephen gathered around him the great reformers of the age. He forced the
fiery monk of Fonte Avellano, St. Peter Damian, to become cardinal-bishop
of Ostia. He sent Hildebrand to smooth over the free election with Empress-Regent
Agnes. And after the capable monk succeeded in this delicate mission, he
was sent into France to push on the work of reform.
The condition of the clergy in Milan was so bad
that the city might be considered a capital of the antireform party. The
Milanese people, however, rose against their unworthy pastors, and though
given the contemptuous name of "patari", i.e., ragamuffins, they made matters
hot for the abuse-ridden clergy. While Pope Stephen moderated the violence
of these eleventh-century vigilantes, he approved of their association.
For some reason, possibly to wage war on the troublesome
South Italian Normans, Stephen asked the monks of Monte Cassino to lend
him all their gold and silver. But when he saw that the monks were less
than delighted with the proposal, the good Pope relented and let them bring
their treasures back.
Like his German predecessors, Stephen was soon sick.
He died on a trip to Tuscany on March 29, 1058. To the Romans he left a
legacy of good advice--not to elect a successor until the return of Hildebrand.
Excerpted from "Popes Through
the Ages" by Joseph Brusher, S.J. Electronic version copyright © 1996
New
Advent, Inc.
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