
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.
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.
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