Home
 Pope Saint Leo IX 1000th Anniversary of Birth Scott 1225-1227 (2002) Leo IX (1002-1054) was pope from 1048-1054. Holy Roman Emperors periodically traveled to Italy to restore order in Lombardy and Rome to settle conflicts, secular and religious. Leo IX was placed on the papal throne by Emperor Henry III at a time when there was instability in Rome and in the election of successors of St. Peter, prior to the Gregorian reforms which were to be introduced by a successor. Before assuming his new role, Leo IX was acclaimed pope by the clergy and people of Rome, a step that was important for his subsequent authority as a successor of St. Peter. While Pope, Leo IX traveled through Italy, France, and Germany holding synods to reform the Chruch. These gatherings aimed at eliminating various abuses such as simony, nepotism, and clerical marriage. Some bishops were deposed, while others were re-established in office to carry out a reform program. Over time the reforms eliminated a good deal of interference in Church matters by emperors and nobility, to which somewhat ironically, Leo IX owed his initial appointment. (Emperor Henry III was interested in the reformers plans and was a sincere Christian ruler). He also formed a military alliance against the Normans in southern Italy who threatened Rome and papal control over the city, although his army suffered defeat by the Normans. Leo IX sent legates to Constantinople to deal with heresy and questions of authority but died just as the separation (1054) of Eastern Greek and Western Latin Christendom occurred (the Great Schism), which continues to the present day. Pope Leo IX died at Old St. Peter’s Basilica on 19 April, 1054. He was immediately proclaimed a saint, as miracles were immediately reported at his tomb. A successor, St. Gregory VII (1073-1085), initiated the Gregorian Reforms, in line with those advocated by Leo IX, which aimed at establishing the papacy subject only to canon law, separate from lay society (especially the authority of the Holy Roman Emperor), and united in obedience to the successors of St. Peter, thus laying the groundwork for the authority of the medieval papacy. REFERENCES: |
