Damasus II
Poppo · 1048 – 1048
A German bishop installed by Emperor Henry III who died just twenty-three days after his consecration, possibly from malaria.
Poppo was the bishop of Brixen in Bavaria. Emperor Henry III appointed him pope after the previous pope, Clement II, died and the Romans attempted to reinstall the deposed Benedict IX. Poppo arrived in Rome, took the name Damasus II, and died twenty-three days later, likely of malaria. His brief pontificate was so short that it left virtually no mark on Church history.
Twenty-Three Days
Damasus II had barely arrived in Rome before he was dead. Whether it was malaria, poison, or the Roman summer, he never had the chance to govern. His death opened the way for the great reformer Leo IX, who would transform the papacy.