Pope John XIX ( la, Ioannes XIX; died October 1032), born Romanus, was the

bishop of Rome A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ...

and ruler of the

Papal States The Papal States ( ; it, Stato Pontificio, ), officially the State of the Church ( it, Stato della Chiesa, ; la, Status Ecclesiasticus;), were a series of territories in the Italian Peninsula under the direct sovereign rule of the pope fro ...

from 1024 to his death. He belonged to the family of the powerful

counts of Tusculum The counts of Tusculum, also known as the Theophylacti, were a family of secular noblemen from Latium that maintained a powerful position in Rome between the 10th and 12th centuries. Several popes and an antipope during the 11th century came from ...

, succeeding his brother, Benedict VIII. Papal relations with the Patriarchate of Constantinople soured during John XIX's pontificate. He was a supporter of Emperor Conrad II and patron of the musician

Guido of Arezzo Guido of Arezzo ( it, Guido d'Arezzo; – after 1033) was an Italian music theorist and pedagogue of High medieval music. A Benedictine monk, he is regarded as the inventor—or by some, developer—of the modern staff notation that had a m ...

Family

Romanus was born in

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus ( legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

. He was the third son of Count Gregory I of Tusculum and his wife, Mary. During the pontificate of his brother, Benedict VIII, Romanus held the temporal power in the city as consul and senator. Upon the death of Benedict, Romanus, a layman, was elected to succeed him. He was immediately

ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the denominational hierarchy composed of other clergy) to perform ...

in all the orders in succession, and consecrated bishop in order to enable him to ascend the papal chair. He took the name of John.Kirsch, Johann Peter. "Pope John XIX (XX)." The Catholic Encyclopedia
Vol. 8. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1910. 8 November 2017

Papacy

John XIX played a role in the process leading to the Schism of 1054 by rejecting a proposal by

Patriarch Eustathius of Constantinople Eustathius (Greek: Ευστάθιος; ? – December 1025) was Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople from July 1019 to December 1025. Eustathius was the protopresbyter of the imperial palace when he was raised to the Patriarchal throne by th ...

to recognise that patriarchate's sphere of interest in the east. Against the grain of ecclesiastical history, John XIX agreed, upon being paid a large bribe, to recognize the

patriarch of Constantinople The ecumenical patriarch ( el, Οἰκουμενικός Πατριάρχης, translit=Oikoumenikós Patriárchēs) is the archbishop of Constantinople (Istanbul), New Rome and '' primus inter pares'' (first among equals) among the heads of th ...

's claim to the title of

ecumenical Ecumenism (), also spelled oecumenism, is the concept and principle that Christians who belong to different Christian denominations should work together to develop closer relationships among their churches and promote Christian unity. The adjec ...

bishop. However, this proposal excited general indignation throughout the Church, compelling him almost immediately to withdraw from the agreement. John invited the celebrated musician,

, to visit Rome and explain the musical notation invented by him. He encouraged the Benedictine to instruct the Roman clergy in music. On the death of the

Emperor Henry II Henry II (german: Heinrich II; it, Enrico II; 6 May 973 – 13 July 1024), also known as Saint Henry the Exuberant, Obl. S. B., was Holy Roman Emperor ("Romanorum Imperator") from 1014. He died without an heir in 1024, and was the last ruler ...

in 1024, John gave his support to Emperor Conrad II, who along with his wife, Gisela of Swabia, was crowned with great pomp at St. Peter's Basilica on

Easter Easter,Traditional names for the feast in English are "Easter Day", as in the '' Book of Common Prayer''; "Easter Sunday", used by James Ussher''The Whole Works of the Most Rev. James Ussher, Volume 4'') and Samuel Pepys''The Diary of Samue ...

of 1027. Two kings,

Rudolph III of Burgundy Rudolph III (french: Rodolphe, german: Rudolf; – 6 September 1032), called the Idle or the Pious, was the king of Burgundy from 993 until his death. He was the last ruler of an independent Kingdom of Burgundy, and the last male member of the Bu ...

and

Cnut the Great Cnut (; ang, Cnut cyning; non, Knútr inn ríki ; or , no, Knut den mektige, sv, Knut den Store. died 12 November 1035), also known as Cnut the Great and Canute, was King of England from 1016, King of Denmark from 1018, and King of Norw ...

of Denmark and England, took part in this journey to Rome. Consistent with his role as a Christian king, Cnut went to Rome to repent for his sins, to pray for redemption and the security of his subjects, and to improve the conditions for pilgrims, as well as merchants, on the road to Rome. Rudolph had control of many of the toll gates. Negotiations being successful, the solemn word of the pope, Conrad and Rudolph was given with the witness of four archbishops, twenty bishops, and "innumerable multitudes of dukes and nobles", suggesting it was before the ceremonies were completed. In 1025 he sent the crown to

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...

and blessed the coronation of the Polish king

Bolesław I the Brave Bolesław I the Brave ; cs, Boleslav Chrabrý; la, Boleslaus I rex Poloniae (17 June 1025), less often known as Bolesław the Great, was Duke of Poland from 992 to 1025, and the first King of Poland in 1025. He was also Duke of Bohemia betwe ...

. On 6 April 1027, John held a Lateran synod in which he declared for the

patriarch of Aquileia The highest-ranking bishops in Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy, the Catholic Church (above major archbishop and primate), the Hussite Church, Church of the East, and some Independent Catholic Churches are termed patriarchs (and in certain ...

against the

patriarch of Grado This is a list of the Patriarchs of Grado (north-eastern Italy).
'' Poppo of Aquileia, the patriarchal dignity and putting the bishop of Grado under his jurisdiction. In fact, the patriarch took precedence over all Italian bishops. In 1029, John revoked his decision and reaffirmed all the dignities of Grado. John also enacted a papal bull endowing Archbishop

Byzantius of Bari Byzantius (died 1035) was the archbishop of Bari in the early eleventh century. He began the construction of the new cathedral, which was continued by his successors. In 1025, the Byzantine catepan of Italy, Basil Boioannes, reorganised the stru ...

with the right to consecrate his own twelve suffragans after the reattachment of the Bariot diocese to Rome in 1025. This was part of a conciliatory agreement with Eustathius, whereby the existence of the

Byzantine Rite The Byzantine Rite, also known as the Greek Rite or the Rite of Constantinople, identifies the wide range of cultural, liturgical, and canonical practices that developed in the Eastern Christian Church of Constantinople. The canonical hours a ...

would be allowed in Italy in exchange for the establishment of

Latin Rite Latin liturgical rites, or Western liturgical rites, are Catholic rites of public worship employed by the Latin Church, the largest particular church '' sui iuris'' of the Catholic Church, that originated in Europe where the Latin language onc ...

churches in Constantinople. Pope John XIX took the

Cluny Abbey Cluny Abbey (; , formerly also ''Cluni'' or ''Clugny''; ) is a former Benedictine monastery in Cluny, Saône-et-Loire, France. It was dedicated to Saint Peter. The abbey was constructed in the Romanesque architectural style, with three churche ...

under his protection, and renewed its privileges in spite of the protests of Goslin,

bishop of Macon A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is c ...

. He offered Odilo of Cluny the archbishopric of Lyons, but Odilo refused and the pope then chided Odilo for disobedience. John XIX died shortly after. He was said to have been killed by a mob of angry peasants, but there is no direct evidence to support this. His nephew Benedict IX was selected to succeed him, although he was still young; according to some sources, he was only 12, but he was more likely to have been about 18 or 20.

Family tree

John XIX was closely related to five other popes who reigned in the 10th and 11th centuries, as well as some of the most powerful rulers of Italy at the time.

References

Sources

* * *Runciman, Steven. ''Byzantine Civilisation''. London, University Paparback, 1961. {{DEFAULTSORT:John 19 Popes Italian popes 11th-century archbishops 1032 deaths Cardinal-nephews Medieval Roman consuls Year of birth unknown 11th-century popes Counts of Tusculum Burials at St. Peter's Basilica