Gregory V, Pope (996-99)

GREGORY V, POPE (996-99). - Bruno of Carinthia was the first German pope of the Middle Ages. Born in 972, son of Duke Otto of Carinthia, he was educated by Bishop Hildebold of Worms and became court chaplain. On the request of a Roman legation he was appointed pope by Emperor Otto III to succeed John XV and was well received by the Roman clergy and people for his excellent character and blameless morals. Gregory V crowned Emperor Otto III. Toward the end of 996 he was driven from Rome by a new rebellion led by John Crescentius II, who, although recently pardoned by the Emperor through the Pope’s mediation, with clandestine aid from the Byzantines, set up the ambitious antipope John XVI. In February 998 Gregory
GREGORIO V, POPE (996-999) - Epitaph of Gregory V (d. 999) - Vatican Grottoes.

Gregory V was restored to Rome by Otto III with the support of military forces. In the ecclesiastical dispute at Reims, Gregory V successfully intervened in favor of Arnulf’s rights, but later granted the archbishopric of Ravenna and the pallium to Gerbert (later Pope Sylvester II). Against King Robert II of France, he vigorously defended the Church’s marriage laws. Gregory V died prematurely of malaria. The epitaph in the Vatican Grottoes praises his charitable activity and zeal, and notes that he preached in three languages.