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<!DOCTYPE html> <html lang="en"> <head> <title>CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA: Pope John XIII</title><script src="https://dtyry4ejybx0.cloudfront.net/js/cmp/cleanmediacmp.js?ver=0104" async="true"></script><script defer data-domain="newadvent.org" src="https://plausible.io/js/script.js"></script><link rel="canonical" href="https://www.newadvent.org/cathen/08427a.htm"> <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1"> <meta name="description" content="Date of birth unknown; enthroned on 1 Oct., 965; d. 6 Sept., 972"> <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"><link rel="alternate" type="application/rss+xml" title="RSS" href="http://feeds.newadvent.org/bestoftheweb?format=xml"><link rel="icon" href="../images/icon1.ico" type="image/x-icon"><link rel="shortcut icon" href="../images/icon1.ico" type="image/x-icon"><meta name="robots" content="noodp"><link type="text/css" rel="stylesheet" href="../utility/screen6.css" media="screen"></head> <body class="cathen" id="08427a.htm">  <br/> <div id="capitalcity"><table summary="Logo" cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 width="100%"><tr valign="bottom"><td align="left"><a href="../"><img height=36 width=153 border="0" alt="New Advent" src="../images/logo.gif"></a></td><td align="right"> <form id="searchbox_000299817191393086628:ifmbhlr-8x0" action="../utility/search.htm">  <input type="hidden" name="safe" value="active"> <input type="hidden" name="cx" value="000299817191393086628:ifmbhlr-8x0"/> <input type="hidden" name="cof" value="FORID:9"/>  <label for="searchQuery" id="searchQueryLabel">Search:</label> <input id="searchQuery" name="q" type="text" size="25" aria-labelledby="searchQueryLabel"/>  <label for="submitButton" id="submitButtonLabel" class="visually-hidden">Submit Search</label> <input id="submitButton" type="submit" name="sa" value="Search" aria-labelledby="submitButtonLabel"/> </form> <table summary="Spacer" cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0><tr><td height="2"></td></tr></table> <table summary="Tabs" cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0><tr> <td bgcolor="#ffffff"></td> <td class="tab"><a class="tab_color_on_beige" href="../"> Home </a></td> <td class="tab"><a class="tab_white_on_color" href="../cathen/index.html"> Encyclopedia </a></td> <td class="tab"><a class="tab_color_on_beige" href="../summa/index.html"> Summa </a></td> <td class="tab"><a class="tab_color_on_beige" href="../fathers/index.html"> Fathers </a></td> <td class="tab"><a class="tab_color_on_beige" href="../bible/gen001.htm"> Bible </a></td> <td class="tab"><a class="tab_color_on_beige" href="../library/index.html"> Library </a></td> </tr></table> </td> </tr></table><table summary="Alphabetical index" width="100%" cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0><tr><td class="bar_white_on_color"> <a href="../cathen/a.htm"> A </a><a href="../cathen/b.htm"> B </a><a href="../cathen/c.htm"> C </a><a href="../cathen/d.htm"> D </a><a href="../cathen/e.htm"> E </a><a href="../cathen/f.htm"> F </a><a href="../cathen/g.htm"> G </a><a href="../cathen/h.htm"> H </a><a href="../cathen/i.htm"> I </a><a href="../cathen/j.htm"> J </a><a href="../cathen/k.htm"> K </a><a href="../cathen/l.htm"> L </a><a href="../cathen/m.htm"> M </a><a href="../cathen/n.htm"> N </a><a href="../cathen/o.htm"> O </a><a href="../cathen/p.htm"> P </a><a href="../cathen/q.htm"> Q </a><a href="../cathen/r.htm"> R </a><a href="../cathen/s.htm"> S </a><a href="../cathen/t.htm"> T </a><a href="../cathen/u.htm"> U </a><a href="../cathen/v.htm"> V </a><a href="../cathen/w.htm"> W </a><a href="../cathen/x.htm"> X </a><a href="../cathen/y.htm"> Y </a><a href="../cathen/z.htm"> Z </a> </td></tr></table></div> <div id="mobilecity" style="text-align: center; "><a href="../"><img height=24 width=102 border="0" alt="New Advent" src="../images/logo.gif"></a></div>  <div id="mi5"><span class="breadcrumbs"><a href="../">Home</a> > <a href="../cathen">Catholic Encyclopedia</a> > <a href="../cathen/j.htm">J</a> > Pope John XIII</span></div> <div id="springfield2"> <div class='catholicadnet-728x90' id='cathen-728x90-top' style='display: flex; height: 100px; align-items: center; justify-content: center; '></div> <h1>Pope John XIII</h1> <p><em><a href="https://gumroad.com/l/na2"><strong>Please help support the mission of New Advent</strong> and get the full contents of this website as an instant download. Includes the Catholic Encyclopedia, Church Fathers, Summa, Bible and more  all for only $19.99...</a></em></p> <p>Date of birth unknown; <a href="../cathen/05479c.htm">enthroned</a> on 1 Oct., 965; d. 6 Sept., 972. After the death of <a href="../cathen/08426b.htm">John XII</a> in 964 Benedictus Grammaticus was elected his successor as <a href="../cathen/02428b.htm">Benedict V</a>. But <a href="../cathen/11354a.htm">Otto I</a> brought back to <a href="../cathen/13164a.htm">Rome</a> the <a href="../cathen/01582a.htm">antipope</a> <a href="../cathen/09160b.htm">Leo VIII</a>, whom he had set up in 963, and banished Benedict to Hamburg. <a href="../cathen/09160b.htm">Leo VIII</a> died in March, 965, whereupon the Romans requested the emperor to send Benedict back to them as <a href="../cathen/12260a.htm">pope</a>. But Otto refused, and Benedict died shortly after in July, 965. In presence of the imperial envoys, <a href="../cathen/09313a.htm">Liutprand</a>, <a href="../cathen/02581b.htm">Bishop</a> of <a href="../cathen/04483a.htm">Cremona</a>, and Otgar, <a href="../cathen/02581b.htm">Bishop</a> of <a href="../cathen/14214e.htm">Speyer</a>, the emperor's candidate, John, <a href="../cathen/02581b.htm">Bishop</a> of <a href="../cathen/10704a.htm">Narni</a>, was elected <a href="../cathen/12260a.htm">pope</a>, and <a href="../cathen/04380a.htm">crowned</a> on 1 October, 965, as John XIII. He belonged to the <a href="../cathen/05782a.htm">family</a> of the elder Theodora, who by her marriage with the senator Theophylactus had, besides Marozia, another daughter, the younger Theodora, who married the consul John. This John later entered the <a href="../cathen/04049b.htm">ecclesiastical state</a> and became a <a href="../cathen/02581b.htm">bishop</a>. From his union with Theodora sprang two daughters and three sons, among the latter one called John, who, while still in his youth, entered the <a href="../cathen/12409a.htm">priesthood</a> at <a href="../cathen/13164a.htm">Rome</a>, and later became <a href="../cathen/02581b.htm">Bishop</a> of <a href="../cathen/10704a.htm">Narni</a>. It was on this scion of the Roman nobility that the choice of the electors fell. Some of the nobles were hostile to the new <a href="../cathen/12260a.htm">pope</a>, because he was the imperial candidate, and, when he endeavoured to repress their encroachments, they plotted against him, and in December, 965, succeeded in getting possession of his <a href="../cathen/11726a.htm">person</a>. They shut him up in the Castle of Sant' Angelo, and subsequently removed him to a fortified place in Campagna. John succeeded, however, in escaping from his <a href="../cathen/12430a.htm">prison</a>, and found welcome and protection with Prince Pandulf of <a href="../cathen/03319a.htm">Capua</a>. At <a href="../cathen/13164a.htm">Rome</a> a reaction set in towards the exiled <a href="../cathen/12260a.htm">pope</a>, and, when in 966 Emperor Otto undertook another expedition to <a href="../cathen/08208a.htm">Italy</a>, the Romans were terrified and permitted John to return to the city on 14 November. In December the emperor arrived and dispensed stern <a href="../cathen/08571c.htm">justice</a> to the conspirators, some of whom were hanged and others banished.</p> <div class="CMtag_300x250" style="display: flex; height: 300px; align-items: center; justify-content: center; "></div> <p>The <a href="../cathen/12260a.htm">pope</a> now allied himself closely with the emperor. On 11 January, 967, a synod was held in St. Peter's, concerning the results of which nothing is <a href="../cathen/08673a.htm">known</a>. John travelled with Otto to <a href="../cathen/12662b.htm">Ravenna</a>, where in April, 967, he held another synod in which the elevation of <a href="../cathen/09524b.htm">Magdeburg</a> to <a href="../cathen/10244c.htm">metropolitan</a> dignity was confirmed, disputes were decided, privileges conferred upon churches and <a href="../cathen/04340c.htm">convents</a>, and <a href="../cathen/12662b.htm">Ravenna</a> with its territory restored to the <a href="../cathen/12260a.htm">pope</a> as part of the Ecclesiastical States. Relations between John and the emperor continued cordial. On <a href="../cathen/03724b.htm">Christmas Day</a>, 967, the latter's thirteen-year-old son, <a href="../cathen/11355a.htm">Otto II</a>, came to <a href="../cathen/13164a.htm">Rome</a>, and was <a href="../cathen/04380a.htm">crowned</a> joint emperor with his <a href="../cathen/11478c.htm">father</a>. Shortly after, at one of the <a href="../cathen/14388a.htm">synods</a> held in <a href="../cathen/13164a.htm">Rome</a>, the <a href="../cathen/04340c.htm">monastery</a> which the emperor had founded at <a href="../cathen/10148b.htm">Meissen</a> in Saxony was made a <a href="../cathen/05001a.htm">see</a>. John also favoured the negotiations held with the <a href="../cathen/03096a.htm">Byzantines</a> for a matrimonial alliance between <a href="../cathen/11355a.htm">Otto II</a> and the Princess Theophano. The marriage took place at <a href="../cathen/13164a.htm">Rome</a>, and was blessed by the <a href="../cathen/12260a.htm">pope</a> himself on 14 April, 972. After the death of Archbishop William of <a href="../cathen/09550a.htm">Mainz</a> and Bishop Bernard of Halberstadt in 968, the new <a href="../cathen/10244c.htm">metropolitan</a> <a href="../cathen/10244c.htm">see</a> at <a href="../cathen/09524b.htm">Magdeburg</a> in <a href="../cathen/14042a.htm">Slavic</a> territory, for which the emperor had worked <a href="../cathen/15753a.htm">zealously</a> and which had been confirmed by the <a href="../cathen/12260a.htm">pope</a>, was finally realized. On <a href="../cathen/03724b.htm">Christmas Day</a>, 968, Abbot Adalbert was <a href="../cathen/04276a.htm">consecrated</a> first <a href="../cathen/01691a.htm">Archbishop</a> of <a href="../cathen/09524b.htm">Magdeburg</a>, and in turn <a href="../cathen/04276a.htm">consecrated</a> the first Bishops of Merseburg, <a href="../cathen/10148b.htm">Meissen</a>, and Zeitz. The <a href="../cathen/12260a.htm">pope</a> was also active in extending the <a href="../cathen/07322c.htm">hierarchy</a> in other countries. Early in his pontificate he had raised <a href="../cathen/03319a.htm">Capua</a> to <a href="../cathen/10244c.htm">metropolitan</a> rank in gratitude for the shelter which Prince Pandulf had afforded him. At a Roman synod in 969 <a href="../cathen/02477b.htm">Benevento</a> received the same dignity. He confirmed the decrees of <a href="../cathen/14388a.htm">synods</a> held in <a href="../cathen/05445a.htm">England</a> and <a href="../cathen/06166a.htm">France</a>. Privileges were granted to churches and <a href="../cathen/04340c.htm">convents</a>, especially to Cluny, and the <a href="../cathen/12260a.htm">pope</a> decided numerous questions of ecclesiastical law, referred to him from various countries. The plan of the <a href="../cathen/02612b.htm">Bohemian</a> Duke Boleslaus II for the foundation of a see at <a href="../cathen/12338a.htm">Prague</a>, though approved by the <a href="../cathen/12260a.htm">pope</a>, had to be deferred to a later date. John XIII was succeeded by <a href="../cathen/02428c.htm">Benedict VI</a>.</p> <div class='catholicadnet-728x90' id='cathen-728x90-bottom' style='display: flex; height: 100px; align-items: center; justify-content: center; '></div> <div class="cenotes"><h2>Sources</h2><p class="cenotes">Liber Pontificalis, ed. DUCHESNE, II, 252-4; JAFFE, Regesta Rom. Pont., I (2nd ed.), 470 sqq.; LANGEN, Gesch. der römischen Kirche, III, 356-64: FLOSS, Die Papstwahl unter den Ottonen (Freiburg im Br., 1858); HEFELE, Konziliengesch., IV (2nd ed.), 628-32; DUEMMLER, Otto der Grosse (Leipzig, 1876); UHLIRZ, Jahrbucher des deutschen Reiches unter Otto Il und Otto III, I (Leipzig, 1902); HAUCK, Kirchengesch. Deutschlands, III, 124 sqq.; REUMONT, Gesch. der Stadt Rom.; GREGOROVIUS, Gesch. der Stadt Rom.</p></div> <div class="pub"><h2>About this page</h2><p id="apa"><strong>APA citation.</strong> <span id="apaauthor">Kirsch, J.P.</span> <span id="apayear">(1910).</span> <span id="apaarticle">Pope John XIII.</span> In <span id="apawork">The Catholic Encyclopedia.</span> <span id="apapublisher">New York: Robert Appleton Company.</span> <span id="apaurl">http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/08427a.htm</span></p><p id="mla"><strong>MLA citation.</strong> <span id="mlaauthor">Kirsch, Johann Peter.</span> <span id="mlaarticle">"Pope John XIII."</span> <span id="mlawork">The Catholic Encyclopedia.</span> <span id="mlavolume">Vol. 8.</span> <span id="mlapublisher">New York: Robert Appleton Company,</span> <span id="mlayear">1910.</span> <span id="mlaurl"><http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/08427a.htm>.</span></p><p id="transcription"><strong>Transcription.</strong> <span id="transcriber">This article was transcribed for New Advent by John Fobian.</span> <span id="dedication">In memory of John Crowley, S.J.</span></p><p id="approbation"><strong>Ecclesiastical approbation.</strong> <span id="nihil"><em>Nihil Obstat.</em> October 1, 1910. Remy Lafort, S.T.D., Censor.</span> <span id="imprimatur"><em>Imprimatur.</em> +John Cardinal Farley, Archbishop of New York.</span></p><p id="contactus"><strong>Contact information.</strong> The editor of New Advent is Kevin Knight. My email address is webmaster <em>at</em> newadvent.org. Regrettably, I can't reply to every letter, but I greatly appreciate your feedback — especially notifications about typographical errors and inappropriate ads.</p></div> </div> <div id="ogdenville"><table summary="Bottom bar" width="100%" cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0><tr><td class="bar_white_on_color"><center><strong>Copyright © 2023 by <a href="../utility/contactus.htm">New Advent LLC</a>. 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