The Pope who sold his office: the chaotic, scandalous reign of Benedict IX

Ideas & Philosophy · Published 3 October 2026 Swipe more like this →

In short: Benedict IX remains the only person in history to serve as pope three separate times and the only one accused of selling the papacy. Ascending to the throne as a young man through bribery, his tenure was defined by violent power struggles, multiple depositions, and allegations of extreme moral depravity.

Born Theophylact of Tusculum around 1012, Benedict IX was the nephew of two previous popes, Benedict VIII and John XIX. His father, Count Alberic III, secured his election in October 1032 by bribing the Roman populace. While some accounts, such as those by the monk Rodulfus Glaber, suggest he was as young as 11 or 12, other evidence indicates he was likely about 20. Regardless of his exact age, his reign was marked by intense factional conflict and accusations of a dissolute lifestyle, including claims of murder, adultery, and sodomy made by figures like Peter Damian and Pope Victor III.

The political instability surrounding his papacy led to his repeated expulsion from Rome. In 1044, opposition to his conduct forced him out, leading to the election of Sylvester III. Benedict later reclaimed the city, but in May 1045, he chose to resign in favor of his godfather, John Gratian—who became Gregory VI—on the condition that he be reimbursed for his initial election expenses. This transaction was later condemned as simony. Benedict soon regretted this decision, returned to Rome, and attempted to depose Gregory VI, creating a chaotic period where three men claimed the papal throne simultaneously.

The crisis prompted an intervention by Henry III, King of the Romans. At the Council of Sutri in December 1046, Henry deposed Benedict IX, Sylvester III, and Gregory VI, installing Clement II as pope. Benedict refused to accept this, seizing the Lateran Palace again in 1047 after Clement’s death, only to be ousted by German troops in 1048. Excommunicated in 1049 for refusing to answer charges of simony, his later life remains obscure. He eventually died around 1056 and was buried at the Abbey of Grottaferrata, where the local abbot claimed he died a penitent man.

Historians like Reginald Lane Poole have cautioned that the extreme accounts of Benedict's character may be biased, noting that these accusations surfaced primarily when his political enemies were in power. While Benedict was likely a negligent and profligate leader, the most lurid descriptions of his reign often reflect the intense hostility of a period defined by the collapse of the Tusculan hegemony.

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