Pope Sergius IV

Who was Pope Sergius IV?

Pope Sergius IV was the head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 31 July 1009 to his death in 1012.

He was born in Rome as Pietro Martino Buccaporci, which name essentially translates as "Peter Pig's Snout." The date of his birth is unknown.

Buccaporci was the son of a shoemaker. Despite his family's poor background, he performed well after entering the Church and rose quickly through the ranks. In 1004, he became Bishop of Albano. He was elected pope after the abdication of Pope John XVIII in 1009, and adopted the name Sergius IV.

The power held by Sergius IV was small and often overshadowed by John Crescentius III, the ruler of the city of Rome at the time. Some historians have claimed that Sergius IV was essentially a puppet ruler for Crescentius III. Others, however, claimed that the Pope resisted his power, and there is some evidence that Sergius IV gave political backing to an anti-Crescentius, German faction in the city.

Acts sometimes attributed to Sergius IV include measures to relieve famine in the city of Rome, and the exemption of certain monasteries from episcopal rule. A papal bull calling for Muslims to be driven from the Holy Land after the Church of the Holy Sepulchre was destroyed in 1009 by the Fatimid caliph al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah has been attributed to him. However, some historians have suggested that this bull was actually invented around the time of the First Crusade in order to help justify that expedition to Jerusalem. More recently, some historians have forcefully argued for the document's authenticity.