Romanus Gallese

Born [date unknown] in Gallese, Italy

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Biography

Pope Romanus Gallese is Notable.

Romanus was born in Gallese, Papal States.^[1]

Horace Mann^[1] states:

Pope in August, he was dead in November. From the Catalogues it appears that he was the son of Constantine, and priest of the title of St Peter, ad vincula. ...

He was the cardinal priest of San Pietro in Vincoli, in Rome in 867.^[2]

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

Very little is known for sure about Romanus, including the dates of his birth, death, and papal election. During his short time in office, Romanus granted the pallium to Vitalis, the Abbot of Italy’s Farfa Abbey, and also gave a papal stamp of approval to Spanish bishops Gerona and Elna in affirming the possessions of their dioceses.

His pontificate ended in November 897, though he may have been deposed instead of dying in office. One written account of Romanus’ era noted that “he was made a monk,” which, at that time, was the polite way of saying “he got the boot.”

Romanus was known primarily for being another pope who ascended from one of the many groups fighting over the papacy in Rome during those days. All signs point to Romanus belonging to the party who had imprisoned and murdered his predecessor, Stephen VI, for convening the grisly Cadaver Synod.

In keeping with the tradition of many popes during those days, Romanus also made a point to annul all the decrees and actions of the previous pope, perhaps with a bit of attitude.

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 Romanus
3. ↑ Flocknote: Popes in a Year
   Pope Romanus – SOURCES (and further reading)
   John, E. (1964). The Popes: A concise biographical history. New York: Hawthorn Books.
   Pope Romanus - http://www.newadvent.org/ cathen/13163b.htm
   Pope Romanus - https://en.wikipedia.org/ wiki/Pope_Romanus