Pope Leo IV (790 – 17 July 855) 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 10 April 847 to his death. He is remembered for repairing Roman churches that had been damaged during the

Arab raid against Rome The Arab raid against Rome took place in 846. Muslim raiders plundered the outskirts of the city of Rome, sacking the basilicas of Old St Peter's and St Paul's-Outside-the-Walls, but were prevented from entering the city itself by the Aurelian ...

, and for building the Leonine Wall around Vatican Hill to protect the city. Pope Leo organized a league of Italian cities who fought and won the sea Battle of Ostia against the

Saracen upright 1.5, Late 15th-century German woodcut depicting Saracens Saracen ( ) was a term used in the early centuries, both in Greek and Latin writings, to refer to the people who lived in and near what was designated by the Romans as Arabia ...

Early career

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: * Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lett ...

by birth, Leo received his early education at Rome in the monastery of St. Martin, near St. Peter's. He attracted the notice of Pope Gregory IV, who made him a subdeacon; and was created cardinal-priest of Santi Quattro Coronati by

Pope Sergius II Pope Sergius II ( la, Sergius II; died 27 January 847) was the bishop of Rome and ruler of the Papal States from January 844 to his death in 847. Sergius II's pontificate saw the Arab raid against Rome as well as the city's redevelopment. Rise ...

Pontificate

In April 847, Leo was unanimously chosen to succeed Sergius II. As the attack of the Saracens on Rome in 846 caused the people to fear for the safety of the city, he was consecrated on 10 April, 847 without waiting for the consent of the emperor.

Saracen defenses

He immediately began to repair the damage done to various churches of the city during the

. He restored and embellished the damaged

Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls The Papal Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls ( it, Basilica Papale di San Paolo fuori le Mura), commonly known as Saint Paul's Outside the Walls, is one of Rome's four major papal basilicas, along with the basilicas of Saint John in th ...

and St. Peter's Basilica. The latter's altar again received its gold covering (after being stolen), which weighed 206 lb. and was studded with precious gems. Following the restoration of St. Peter's, Leo appealed to the Christian kingdoms to confront the Arab raiders. Leo also took precautions against further raids. He put the walls of the city into a thorough state of repair, entirely rebuilding fifteen of the great towers. He was the first to enclose the Vatican hill by a wall. Leo ordered a new line of walls encompassing the suburb on the right bank of the

Tiber The Tiber ( ; it, Tevere ; la, Tiberis) is the third-longest river in Italy and the longest in Central Italy, rising in the Apennine Mountains in Emilia-Romagna and flowing through Tuscany, Umbria, and Lazio, where it is joined by th ...

to be built, including St. Peter's Basilica, which had been undefended until this time. The district enclosed by the walls is still known as the

Leonine City The Leonine City ( Latin: ''Civitas Leonina'') is the part of the city of Rome which, during the Middle Ages, was enclosed with the Leonine Wall, built by order of Pope Leo IV in the 9th century. This area was located on the opposite side of th ...

, and corresponds to the later rione of Borgo. To do this, he received money from the emperor, and help from all the cities and agricultural colonies (''domus cultae'') of the Duchy of Rome. The work took him four years to accomplish, and the newly fortified portion was called the Leonine City, after him.

Battle of Ostia

In 849, when a Saracen fleet from

Sardinia Sardinia ( ; it, Sardegna, label=Italian, Corsican and Tabarchino ; sc, Sardigna , sdc, Sardhigna; french: Sardaigne; sdn, Saldigna; ca, Sardenya, label= Algherese and Catalan) is the second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, aft ...

approached

Portus Portus was a large artificial harbour of Ancient Rome. Sited on the north bank of the north mouth of the Tiber, on the Tyrrhenian coast, it was established by Claudius and enlarged by Trajan to supplement the nearby port of Ostia. The archa ...

, Leo IV summoned the maritime republics –

Naples Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adm ...

, Gaeta and

Amalfi Amalfi (, , ) is a town and '' comune'' in the province of Salerno, in the region of Campania, Italy, on the Gulf of Salerno. It lies at the mouth of a deep ravine, at the foot of Monte Cerreto (1,315 metres, 4,314 feet), surrounded by dramati ...

– to form a league. The command of the unified fleet was given to Cesarius, son of Duke Sergius I of Naples. Aided by a fierce storm, the league destroyed the Saracen fleet off Ostia.Mann, Horace. "Pope St. Leo IV." The Catholic Encyclopedia
Vol. 9. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1910. 23 September 2017 The Battle of Ostia was one of the most famous in history of the Papacy of the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

and is celebrated in a famous fresco by

Raphael Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino, better known as Raphael (; or ; March 28 or April 6, 1483April 6, 1520), was an Italian painter and architect of the High Renaissance. His work is admired for its clarity of form, ease of composition, and visual ...

and his pupils in his rooms of the Vatican Palace in the

Vatican City Vatican City (), officially the Vatican City State ( it, Stato della Città del Vaticano; la, Status Civitatis Vaticanae),—' * german: Vatikanstadt, cf. '—' (in Austria: ') * pl, Miasto Watykańskie, cf. '—' * pt, Cidade do Vati ...

's ''

The Fire in the Borgo ''The Fire in the Borgo'' is a painting created by the workshop of the Italian Renaissance artist Raphael between 1514 and 1517. Though it is assumed that Raphael did make the designs for the complex composition, the fresco was most likely pain ...

'' celebrates the incident in which, according to legend, Leo stopped a fire in the pilgrims' district by making the sign of the cross. Leo IV held three

synod A synod () is a council of a Christian denomination, usually convened to decide an issue of doctrine, administration or application. The word '' synod'' comes from the meaning "assembly" or "meeting" and is analogous with the Latin word mean ...

s, the one in 850 distinguished by the presence of Emperor Louis II, but the other two of little importance. In 853, he travelled to

Ravenna Ravenna ( , , also ; rgn, Ravèna) is the capital city of the Province of Ravenna, in the Emilia-Romagna region of Northern Italy. It was the capital city of the Western Roman Empire from 408 until its collapse in 476. It then served as the c ...

to settle a dispute with the archbishop. As the archbishop was on good terms with Emperor Lothair I, the pope had little success. The history of the papal struggle with Hincmar of Reims, which began during Leo's pontificate, belongs properly to that of Nicholas I. Before his death in 855 the Pope welcomed Aethelwulf King of Wessex and his sons, including the seven year old

Alfred the Great Alfred the Great (alt. Ælfred 848/849 – 26 October 899) was King of the West Saxons from 871 to 886, and King of the Anglo-Saxons from 886 until his death in 899. He was the youngest son of King Æthelwulf and his first wife Osburh, who bo ...

, who at 5 had already met him in 853, as pilgrims to Rome.

Death and burial

Leo IV died on 17 July 855 and was succeeded by

Benedict III Benedict III may refer to: * Benedict III, Archbishop of Esztergom (died 1276) * Pope Benedict III Pope Benedict III ( la, Benedictus III; died 17 April 858) was the bishop of Rome and ruler of the Papal States from 29 September 855 to his deat ...

. Leo IV was originally buried in his own monument in St. Peter's Basilica. Some years after his death, his remains were put into a tomb that contained the first four popes named Leo. In the 18th century, the relics of Leo the Great were separated from his namesakes and given their own chapel.

Iconography

Leo IV had the figure of a rooster placed on the Old St. Peter's Basilica or old Constantinian basilica which has served as a religious

icon An icon () is a religious work of art, most commonly a painting, in the cultures of the Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, and Catholic churches. They are not simply artworks; "an icon is a sacred image used in religious devotion". The mos ...

and reminder of

Peter's denial The Denial of Peter (or Peter's Denial) refers to three acts of denial of Jesus by the Apostle Peter as described in all four Gospels of the New Testament. All four Canonical Gospels state that during Jesus' Last Supper with his disciples, ...

of Christ since that time, with some churches still having the

cockerel The chicken (''Gallus gallus domesticus'') is a domesticated junglefowl species, with attributes of wild species such as the grey and the Ceylon junglefowl that are originally from Southeastern Asia. Rooster or cock is a term for an adult m ...

on the steeple today. It is reputed that

Pope Gregory I Pope Gregory I ( la, Gregorius I; – 12 March 604), commonly known as Saint Gregory the Great, was the bishop of Rome from 3 September 590 to his death. He is known for instigating the first recorded large-scale mission from Rome, the Gregoria ...

had previously said that the cock (rooster) "was the most suitable emblem of Christianity", being "the emblem of St Peter".The Antiquary: a magazine devoted to the study of the past, Volume 17 edited by

Edward Walford Edward Walford (1823–1897) was a British magazine editor and a compiler of educational, biographical, genealogical and touristic works, perhaps best known for his 6 Volumes of ''Old and New London'' (the first two of which were written by Walt ...

, John Charles Cox, George Latimer Apperson - page 20

/ref> After Leo IV, Pope Nicholas I, who had been made a deacon by Leo IV, decreed that the figure of the cock (rooster) should be placed on every church.How the Chicken Conquered the World - By Jerry Adler and Andrew Lawler - Smithsonian magazine, June 201

References

Sources

* Cheetham, Nicolas, ''Keepers of the Keys'', New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1983.

External links

Opera Omnia by Migne Patrologia Latina with analytical indexes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Leo 04 Popes Italian popes Papal saints 790 births 855 deaths 9th-century archbishops 9th-century Christian saints 9th-century popes Burials at St. Peter's Basilica