Leo V (Pope)

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Leo V was Pope from August to September 903 for about 30 days (according to other sources from July to September) .

Little is known about Leo V. A Breton legend has it that St. Tugdual , the patron saint of Tréguier , went to Rome as a pilgrim and was made Pope there. This version is supported by the fact that Leo took the name "Leo britigena" according to the Roman catalog. Another version says that he comes from Priapi, a village near the municipality of Ardea south of Rome. Since he was not one of the Cardinal Priests of Rome when he was elected, he was referred to in contemporary reports as "Presbiter forensis".

All that is known about his work as Pope is that he wrote a bull that exempted the canons of Bologna certain taxes. The contemporary author Auxilius said of him that he was a man of God and that his life and holiness were worthy of glory.

After a term of about 30 days, he was overthrown and imprisoned by the cardinal priest Christophorus of St. Damasus. Christophorus made himself pope, but was in turn in January 904 by Sergius III. violently overthrown.

Nothing is known for certain about Leo's death. One version says that Christophorus imprisoned and strangled him, another says that his successor in office Sergius III. had "pity" for his two imprisoned predecessors and had them executed. The Catholic Encyclopedia considers it most likely that he died of natural causes in prison or in a monastery. His bones are believed to be in the Lateran basilica or in St. Peter .

literature

  • Klaus Herbers: Leo V . In: Lexicon of the Middle Ages (LexMA). Volume 5, Artemis & Winkler, Munich / Zurich 1991, ISBN 3-7608-8905-0 , Sp. 1878 f.
  • Umberto Longo:  Leone V. In: Massimo Bray (Ed.): Enciclopedia dei Papi. Volume 2:  Niccolò I, santo, Sisto IV. Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana, Rome 2000, pp. 59–60 ( treccani.it ) ..

Web links

Commons : Leo V.  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files
predecessor Office successor
Benedict IV Pope
903 		Sergius III.
personal data
SURNAME Leo V.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Pope
DATE OF BIRTH 9th century
DATE OF DEATH after 903