He Bought the Papacy, Sold It, Then Took It Back — 3 Times #shorts

Added: 2026-06-01

[00:00:00]Benedict the 9th became Pope around 1032 as a teenager. He didn't [music] rise to the position through holiness, but because his father, a Roman count, bribed the church. [music] During his reign, he became known for debauchery, violence, and scandal.

[00:00:15]The people of Rome expelled him, and the church elected a new Pope, >> [music] >> Sylvester the III, whose reign was short and disputed. After just a month, Benedict returned with an army, >> [music] >> expelled him, and forcefully reclaimed power. But Sylvester never [music] formally abdicated and continued to claim he was the true Pope. Soon after, [music] Benedict decided to leave the church and marry his cousin. He sold the papacy to his godfather, Giovanni Gratianus, who became the new Pope, Gregory the VI. However, not long after, Benedict changed his mind and declared himself antipope. At that point, Benedict, Gregory, [music] and Sylvester all claimed papal authority.

[00:00:57]The church had three Popes, so Henry [music] the III, the German emperor, convened a council and forced all of them to step down. But when newly elected Pope Clement [music] the II died in 1047, Benedict seized the Lateran Palace and proclaimed himself Pope once again. He was expelled [music] by the German army, excommunicated by the church, and withdrew to a monastery. He remains remembered as the only Pope to have held the papacy >> [music] >> three times.