Who he was
Theophylact, nephew of Benedict VIII and John XIX, was placed on the papal throne in October 1032 by his father, Alberic, Count of Tusculum, when he was about twenty. Little is recorded of his acts beyond a few synods and grants to churches and monasteries, and his manner of life gave grave scandal. He is the only man to have been pope three times; this first reign lasted until 1044, when a Roman faction drove him out.
What he is remembered for
He came back in 1045, then gave up the office to his godfather John Gratian (Gregory VI) for a sum of money, regretted it, and held Rome a third time in 1047-48 before he was removed to make way for Damasus II. The tradition of the abbey of Grottaferrata, which the Catholic Encyclopedia thinks the most likely account, holds that he finally repented on the advice of its abbot, St Bartholomew, renounced all claim and died there as a penitent; the date of his death is uncertain.
Sources
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