3. Benedict IX sold the papacy and then reacquired it, the only man to be Pope more than once
It took bribery on the part of his father for Benedict IX to ascend to the Throne of Saint Peter, despite his well established reputation as a womanizer, irredeemably aligned with worldly pleasures. He was but twenty years of age when he became pope thanks to his father’s liberally bribing the electors. He was the nephew of two popes, Benedict VIII and John XIX, and the grandnephew of a third, John XII. His father was the Count of Tusculum, brother of Pope John XIX and he purchased the papal office for his son when his brother died. His son quickly alienated the Romans through his open pursuit of pleasures of the flesh. Pope Victor III wrote of Benedict, whose preference was for sexual companions regardless of gender, that “His life as a pope was so vile, so foul, so execrable, that I shudder to think of it.”
Benedict IX was forced out of office, returned through the military assistance of allies, forced out of office again eight years later, and again returned through military force. Palace intrigues, murders, and the disappearance of enemies were prevalent in his terms as pope. During his third term he decided that he wished to marry, and offered to sell the papacy to his successor, who was his godfather, and who became Pope Gregory VI. Benedict soon regretted his abdication and returned to take the city of Rome through military action, though Gregory retained the title of pope. Eventually both were deposed by the Holy Roman Emperor, though Benedict continued to claim that he was the true pope.