The reasons for his elevation to the papacy are unclear; he was a simple priest of a small church near Ardea, Priapi, and thus a stranger to the clergy of Rome. He appears to have continued the Formosan tradition like his predecessors. A palace revolt led by Christopher, who became the antipope, threw him into prison, where he seems to have ended his days under Sergius III. According to Auxilius, he was a man of laudable life and sanctity.
Bibl.: Lib. Pont., II, p. 234; A. Fliche-V. MARTINO G, Hist. de l'Eglise, VII, Paris 1948, p. 30.