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Leo VII
Mosaic portrait in the Basilica of St Paul Outside the Walls, Rome. Photo: Unknown authorUnknown author, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Popes

Leo VII

The 126th pope

Birthplace
Rome
Pope from
3 January 936
Pope until
13 July 939
Died
13 July 939

Who he was

Leo was a Roman, priest of St Sixtus and probably a Benedictine monk. He was elected on 3 January 936, seemingly through the influence of Alberic, the prince who then ruled Rome.

What he is remembered for

He called St Odo, Abbot of Cluny, to Rome to make peace between Alberic and Hugh, King of Italy, who was besieging the city, and Odo arranged a marriage that brought a truce. Most of his letters grant privileges to monasteries, Cluny above all. He made the Archbishop of Mainz his vicar in Germany to help the reform of the clergy there, but forbade him to baptise Jews by force.

Sources

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