Sergius II

Sergius II (* around 790; † January 27, 847 ) was Pope of the Catholic Church from 844 to 847 .

Sergius came from a noble family from which three popes emerged. He was educated in the schola cantorum and was considered an important man within the church from an early age. Under Paschal I (817-824), he was appointed cardinal priest of San Martino ai Monti appointed , and his predecessor Gregory IV. Raised him to the influential rank of archpriest. After Gregory's death, Sergius was chosen as his successor at a meeting of church superiors. In contrast, however, a dean named Johannes rose up , who also fought for the papal throne with a large crowd behind him. After violent riots, Johannes was banished to a monastery and Sergius was able to take up office on time.

The reports differ about Sergius' character: In different editions of the Liber Pontificalis he is described in stark contrast: In one only fragmentary edition, it is claimed that Sergius preferred to devote himself to carnal pleasures and left the official business to his brother Benedict. He is also said to have suffered from severe gout, which restricted him physically and mentally. In the other editions, however, the traditions stand in full contrast. Scientists are currently referring more to those editions that paint a more positive image of Sergius.

Soon after his appointment, Sergius came into conflict with Emperor Lothar I , who felt that he had been left out in the election of the Pope and therefore sent his son Ludwig to Rome with an army. Sergius managed at the last minute to defuse the conflict and prevent an armed struggle for Rome. In order to continue to secure the peace, he crowned Ludwig II as king and awarded the imperial advisor Drogo , the bishop of Metz , the papal ambassador for the east and west of France .

Shortly before his death, Sergius had to experience a violent attack by the Saracens on Rome; the old St. Peter's Basilica and the Church of St. Paul were badly damaged, and only the bitter resistance of the local residents prevented the attackers from devastating the city themselves.

Sergius II was buried in St. Peter's Basilica after his death.

literature

• Ilaria Bonaccorsi:  Sergio II. In: Massimo Bray (ed.): Enciclopedia dei Papi. Volume 1:  Pietro, santo. Anastasio bibliotecario, antipapa. Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana, Rome 2000, pp. 720–723 ( treccani.it ) ..
• Johannes Haller : The papacy. Idea and reality. Volume 2. The structure. Rowohlt, Reinbek 1965 (rowohlts deutsche enzyklopädie 223/224), pp. 27-29 and 376.
• Georg Schwaiger : Sergius II . In: Lexicon of the Middle Ages (LexMA). Volume 7, LexMA-Verlag, Munich 1995, ISBN 3-7608-8907-7 , Sp. 1787.

Web links

Commons : Sergius II.  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

• Sergius II. In: Salvador Miranda : The Cardinals of the Holy Roman Church. ( Florida International University website), accessed November 6, 2011.

predecessor	Office	successor
Gregory IV.	Pope 844-847	Leo IV