Benedict VIII
Theophylact II · 1012 – 1024
A vigorous pope who personally led troops against Saracens, reformed the clergy, and allied with Emperor Henry II to strengthen the Church.
Theophylact was a member of the powerful Tusculani family. Unlike many aristocratic popes, he proved energetic and capable. He personally led naval forces against Saracen raiders in 1016, defeating them off the coast of Sardinia. He crowned Henry II as emperor in 1014 and worked with him at the Synod of Pavia in 1022 to enforce clerical celibacy and combat simony. He also introduced the singing of the Creed at Mass in Rome, a practice already common elsewhere. He died in 1024 after one of the more effective pontificates of the era.
A Fighter and a Reformer
Benedict VIII was both a warrior and a churchman. He fought Saracens on the Mediterranean and simony in the clergy. He put the Creed into the Roman Mass and demanded that priests stop living with women. He was no saint, but he was effective, and the Church was stronger for his efforts.