Boniface di Roma (abt. 806 - 896)

Born about 0806 in Rome, Papal States

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Biography

Pope Boniface VI di Roma is Notable.

Boniface, a Roman, was the son of Adrian, a bishop.^[1]

A native of Rome, Boniface's election was the result of riots after the death of Pope Formosus.^[2]

His papacy lasted only 15 days, and though there is some historical discussion that he was degraded from the subdiaconate and afterwards the priesthood, Horace Mann explains why this has come about by confusing two people named Boniface at the time:^[1]

It would appear then that, if the Boniface of the canon (referring to the annulment of his papacy by John IX in 898) were the successor of Formosus, his name would have been qualified by some official addition, or by some description connecting him with the See of Rome. The more so that he was acknowledged as Pope, not only by his contemporaries, ... but also by later pontiffs, who quote a privilege of his in favour of the Church of Grado. Finally, if Boniface VI had been degraded priest foisted by a mob into the chair of Peter, Frodard would never have set him down as "almus," bountiful or gracious, and assigned him heaven as his reward.

Flocknote Popes in a Year^[3] tells us:

Boniface VI was a Roman by birth, and was the favorite of a Roman faction who seemed to have pulled a fast one after Formosus’ death to get their man in office. His election in April 896 was especially suspect, considering that, prior to being chosen, he had been relieved of his duties twice, once as a subdeacon and once as a priest.

In office less than a month, he’s said to have either died of a bad case of gout, or been forcibly removed from office to make way for his successor, Stephen VI.

Boniface VI, since his reign was shorter than the average DMV visit, currently holds the silver medal for shortest papacy in history, at 16 days. Pope Urban VII is the only man to reign for less time (13 days), sitting as pope for less than two weeks in September 1590.

As a result of the sketchy circumstances surrounding Boniface VI’s election, some papal lists down through history actually count him as an anti-pope and omit him from the official list altogether.

Research Notes

This profile is being updated by the Popes Project.

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1} Mann, Horace K. (1910). The Lives of the Popes in the Early Middle Ages London: Kegan Paul, Trench, Truebner, & Co. Ltd. OCLC 499626370
2. ↑ Wikipedia Pope Boniface VI
3. ↑ Flock note Popes in a Year
   SOURCES (and further reading)
   John, E. (1964). The Popes: A concise biographical history. New York: Hawthorn Books.
   Pope Boniface VI - http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/02661b.htm
   Pope Boniface VI - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pope_Boniface_VI