Stephen III (IV)

Who he was

Stephen was a Sicilian, the son of Olivus, who became a Benedictine monk and was ordained priest by Pope Zachary. He was elected in August 768 after a year of turmoil in which a layman, Constantine, had been forced into the papal chair by armed men and then removed. He is counted as both Stephen III and Stephen IV.

What he is remembered for

His Lateran council of 769 ruled that no layman could be made pope or vote in a papal election. With the help of the Frankish kings Charlemagne and Carloman he recovered some lands from the Lombards, though the Lombard king Desiderius brought down his chief ministers. He is honoured as a saint in some martyrologies, but the Church's official list does not give him the title.

Sources

• Catholic Encyclopedia (1912): Pope Stephen (III) IV
• New Catholic Encyclopedia: Popes, List of (dates from the Annuario Pontificio 2001)