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Boniface VII
antipope
Quick Facts
- Original name:
- Franco
- Died:
- July 985, Rome
Boniface VII (born, Rome—died July 985, Rome) was a pope, or antipope, from June to July 974 and from August 984 to July 985; he owed his rule to the support of the Crescentii, a powerful and unscrupulous Roman family. A cardinal deacon, he ordered the murder of his predecessor, Benedict VI, and was installed by Crescentius I. Later, however, he was expelled at the behest of Otto II, the Holy Roman emperor, and was replaced on the papal throne by Benedict VII. Otto died shortly after Benedict’s successor, John XIV, was elected pope, and the Crescentii attempted to regain ...(100 of 140 words)