Hadrian II

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Hadrian II (* 792 ; † December 14, 872 in Rome ) was Pope for exactly five years from his enthronement on December 14, 867 to his death in 872 .

Hadrian II came from a noble Roman family and was considered a conciliatory Pope. This was shown both by the fact that he surrendered areas that his predecessor Nicholas I had claimed, as well as by his relenting on the question of the Slavic liturgy .

Hadrian was still married when he became a priest. Pope Gregory IV appointed him Cardinal of San Marco . Already after the death of Leo IV and the death of Benedict III. he had been proposed as Pope, but had refused the election. After the death of Nicholas I on November 13, 867, however, he was unanimously elected by the clergy and the people. He accepted the election at the age of 75 and was enthroned on December 14, 867. Shortly after his enthronement, his wife and daughter were taken over by Eleutherus, a relative of the former antipope Anastasius III. , murdered.

He allowed the Frankish King Lothar II to present the problem of the repudiation of his childless wife in Rome, which also made him much more willing to compromise than his predecessor Nicholas I had been. A decision was of course no longer required in this matter, since Lothar II died shortly afterwards.

At the same time, Hadrian II, by canonizing Abbess Walburga on May 1st, gave rise to the custom of Walpurgis Night , which is still widespread in Germany today and is celebrated on the night preceding the patronage feast of Walburga.

In 867 he appointed the former antipope Anastasius III. to the librarian of the Roman Church.

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Commons : Hadrian II.  - Collection of images, videos and audio files
predecessor Office successor
Nicholas I. Pope
867-872 		John VIII
personal data
SURNAME Hadrian II
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Pope (867-872)
DATE OF BIRTH 792
DATE OF DEATH December 14, 872
Place of death Rome