10. A Controversial Holy Father
Holy Father Stephen VI’s time on the papal throne was not that long, and lasted for little more than a year between his election as pope in May, 896, until his death in August, 897. However, that was more than enough time to secure his place in the books, with one of the most controversial and macabre episodes in a papal history that has no shortage of controversy. It took place during a period, from roughly the middle of the ninth century to the middle of the tenth, that was marked by severe political instability in the Italian Peninsula.
Popes in this period were appointed and dethroned in rapid succession, based on the obscure machinations and intrigues of provincial Italian and Roman aristocratic families. Those rustics did not view the papacy and popes through our current global prism. Instead, to the factions in Rome and the surrounding region, the Holy See was simply another tool to be used to further their parochial ambitions and to thwart the ambitions of their rivals. Historical sources are relatively scarce as to the details of just what those rivalries revolved around, but the gist of them covered the basics: wealth, power, and prestige.
