Antipope Boniface VII (; died 20 July 985), otherwise known as Franco Ferrucci, was a Catholic prelate who claimed the Holy See in 974 and from 984 until 985. A popular tumult compelled him to flee to Constantinople in 974; he carried off a vast treasure, and returned in 984 and removed Pope John XIV (983–984) from office. He is supposed to have put Pope Benedict VI to death. After a brief second rule, he died under suspicious circumstances. He is today considered an antipope.
Early life
Originally named Franco, he was the son of Ferrucius. He was born in Italy in the late 920s or early 930s AD, although the exact date is not known. Since his surname was Franco, it has been supposed that he belonged to a family of the name which is frequently mentioned in the documents of the tenth century, and which may have been of French origin. In 972 he became a cardinal deacon, a position which he held until he began his papacy in 974. However, little else is known about his early life simply due to the lack of documents available from this period of Rome as a whole.
Papacy
Under Benedict VI
When Pope John XIII, born Giovanni Crescentius, of the powerful Roman Crescentii family, died on 6 September 972, the majority of the electors who adhered to the imperial faction, elected Benedict, cardinal deacon of the church of Saint Theodore. The anti-imperial faction led by the Crescentii, supported Franco. Benedict was consecrated on 19 January 973 but lacked the support of much of the Roman aristocracy.
Boniface VII's reign was short. In one month and twelve days, the imperial representative Count Sicco had taken possession of the city. As riots and chaos ensued, Boniface VII took refuge in Castel Sant’Angelo where he robbed the treasury of the Vatican Basilica and fled to Byzantine territory in southern Italy. The banishment of the antipope must have been the work of the imperial faction, which were again triumphant in Rome, led by Pandulf the Ironhead. Boniface VII is described as a monster by contemporaries, who stated that he was stained by the blood of Benedict VI. The events of this period in Rome are only known to us through the insufficient notes, and we are barely aware of the rise of Boniface VII before we hear of his overthrow.
Under Benedict VII
Under the influence of Sicco, Benedict, Bishop of Sutri, was elected by the Roman clergy and people, as a compromise candidate in October 974. He took the name of Benedict VII. He was from the noble family of the Counts of Tusculum, and connected to the Crescentii family. Benedict VII immediately held a synod where he excommunicated Boniface. The Emperor celebrated the Easter of 981 in Rome and so overawed the factions that Benedict was able to finish his pontificate in peace. showing the turn of feelings the people of Rome had had.
The anti-imperial faction, previously headed by Crescentius and now headed by his two sons, that had helped him rise to his papal status was now not so much Byzantine as it was Roman. They likely overthrew Boniface VII in hopes of seizing control of a vulnerable Rome. After a reign spanning eleven years, in which he overthrew two popes, allowing both to die in Castel Sant’Angelo, Boniface VII was finally dead. The following morning compassionate clerics removed the corpse and gave it a Christian burial.
See also
- Papal selection before 1059