Antipope Boniface VII

A popular tumult compelled him to flee to Constantinople in 974; he carried off a vast treasure, and returned in 984 and removed Pope John XIV (983–984) from office.

Since his surname was Franco, it has been supposed that he belonged to a family of the name which is frequently mentioned in the documents of the tenth century, and which may have been of French origin.

When Pope John XIII, born Giovanni Crescentius, of the powerful Roman Crescentii family, died on 6 September 972, the majority of the electors who adhered to the imperial faction, elected Benedict, cardinal deacon of the church of Saint Theodore.

When Sicco arrived at Castel Sant’Angelo, a priest named Stephen strangled Benedict VI, possibly on orders of Boniface VII.

As riots and chaos ensued, Boniface VII took refuge in Castel Sant’Angelo where he robbed the treasury of the Vatican Basilica and fled to Byzantine territory in southern Italy.

The events of this period in Rome are unfortunately only known to us through the insufficient notes, and we are barely aware of the rise of Boniface VII before we hear of his overthrow.

Peter of Pavia, Otto II's imperial chancellor for the Kingdom of Italy, was elected pope, taking the name of John XIV.

With Otto II's heir being only aged three, the anti-imperial faction finally felt free from the hated emperor and desired a Roman Pope.

His body was dragged through the streets, stripped naked until it was left beneath Marcus Aurelius's statue in front of the Lateran Palace.

After a reign spanning eleven years, in which he overthrew two popes, allowing both to die in Castel Sant’Angelo, Boniface VII was finally dead.