ALBERTO, ANTIPAPA

ALBERTO, ANTIPOPE. - He was bishop of Sa-
bine and was elected in February or March 1802 in St. Peter's
by the supporters of Emperor Henry IV, in opposition to the
legitimate Pope Paschal II; the violence of the Investiture
Controversy explains this schism and the disgusting scenes that
followed. Indeed, A. was taken to the church of St. Marcellus
under the protection of a certain John, son of Odolindo, but
he was bribed by the money of Paschal's partisans and handed
the antipope over to his enemies. There were riots, A. was
driven out, his pallium was torn from him, he was insulted,
and finally loaded onto a horse and taken to the Lateran, where
he was imprisoned. Later, A. was transferred to the monastery
of St. Lawrence and ended his days there as a monk.