Pope Benedict VIII dies 1024

walwyn mer, 01/05/2022 - 17:00
vendredi, April 9, 1024

On the 9th April 1022 pope Benedict VIII died in Rome and was succeeded by pope John XIX.

Benedict's papacy was marked by the invasion of the Saracens as they renewed their attacks on the southern coasts of Italy. The Normans also began to settle in Italy. Benedict promoted peace in Italy by allying himself with the Normans. He engineered the defeat of the Saracens in Sardinia and brought under control the Crescentii clan. In 1022, he held a synod at Pavia with the Emperor to restrain simony in the clergy. The reformation sponsored by Cluny Abbey was supported by him and he was a friend of Odilo, its abbot. In 1020, Benedict travelled to Germany to confer with Henry II about the renewed Byzantine menace in the Mezzogiorno. He encouraged the "Truce of God" and controlled the ecclesiastical advancement of Gauzlin, the natural brother of Robert the Pious, King of France. Benedict convinced the Emperor to lead an expedition into the south of Italy and subordinate his vassals who had defected to Greek authority.