A Pope Too Scandalous for Tinder
John XII, history’s youngest pope, ascended to the Holy See at the age of eighteen in 955. It marked the beginning of a scandalous and tumultuous papacy. Born Octavianus, he was the product of an incestuous union between Rome’s influential figure, Alberic II, Duke of Spoleto, and his stepsister. Elevated to the papacy through a pre-death oath by his father, John XII showed little interest in spiritual duties. He descended into a life of depravity and pleasure. Selling church offices, ordaining a ten-year-old as a bishop, and engaging in violent acts, he transformed the Lateran Palace into a notorious den of drunken parties and illicit activities.
John XII’s reign, marked by a lack of respect for church offices, violent tendencies, and licentious behavior, reached its climax after nine tumultuous years on the papal throne. His death is shrouded in two conflicting accounts, one depicting a massive stroke during a rather “intimate” and exposed encounter and another suggesting his demise at the hands of a cuckolded husband who interrupted an adulterous liaison. The scandalous and chaotic life of Pope John XII remains a dark chapter in papal history, reflecting the consequences of unchecked power and unbridled hedonism.