Birthplace
Gallese, near Civita Castellana
Pope from
August 897
Pope until
November 897
Who he was
Romanus was born at Gallese, the son of Constantine, and was Cardinal-Priest of St Peter in Chains. He became pope in the summer of 897, after the death of Stephen VI. Very little is known of him for certain.
What he is remembered for
In about four months he granted the pallium to the Patriarch of Grado and confirmed the lands of the Spanish sees of Elne and Girona. The chronicler Flodoard wrote of him as a good man. The records say he was 'made a monk', which in that age often meant he was deposed by one of the Roman factions, so how his reign ended is uncertain.
Sources
All popes · Home · All saints