Birthplace
Priapi, near Ardea
Pope from
July 903
Pope until
September 903
Who he was
Leo came from Priapi, a small place near Ardea, and was a priest serving a church outside the city rather than one of the cardinal-priests of Rome. He was pope in the summer of 903 for about a month. A writer of the time, Auxilius, called him a man of God, of praiseworthy life and holiness.
What he is remembered for
The only act of his that is known is a grant freeing the canons of Bologna from taxes. Christopher, Cardinal-Priest of San Damaso, seized him and took his place, and Christopher in turn was put out by Sergius III. How Leo died is unknown; the Catholic Encyclopedia thinks it most likely he died naturally, in prison or in a monastery.
Sources
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