Pope John XVIII

See also: Pope John (numbering)

For Coptic Pope, see Pope John XVIII of Alexandria.

Pope John XVIII
Papacy began	January 1004
Papacy ended	July 1009
Predecessor	John XVII
Successor	Sergius IV
Personal details
Birth name	Fasanius
Born	??? Rapagnano, Papal States
Died	July 1009 Rome, Papal States, Holy Roman Empire
Other popes named John

Pope John XVIII (Latin: Ioannes PP. XVIII, Italian: Giovanni XVIII; died June or July 1009) was the head of the Catholic Church from January 1004 to his death in 1009. He was born Fasanius at Rapagnano, near Ascoli Piceno, the son of a Roman priest named Leo.

During his whole pontificate he was allegedly subordinate to the head of the Crescentii clan who controlled Rome, the patricius (an aristocratic military leader) John Crescentius III. This period was disrupted by conflicts between the Ottonian Emperor Henry II and Arduin of Ivrea, who had styled himself King of Italy. Rome was wracked with bouts of plague, and Saracens operating freely out of Sardinia ravaged the Tyrrhenian coasts.

As Pope, John XVIII occupied his time mainly with details of ecclesiastical administration. He authorized a new Diocese of Bamberg to serve as a base for missionary activity among the Slavs, a concern of Henry II's. He also adjudicated a squabble between the abbot of Fleury and the bishops of Sens and Orléans.

Ultimately he abdicated and, according to one catalog of Popes, retired to a monastery, where he died shortly afterwards. His successor was Pope Sergius IV.

Confusion over ordinals

See also: Pope John (numbering)

Pope John XVIII was only the seventeenth pope called John, because John XVI (997–998) was an antipope according to official reckoning. His status as an antipope was not recognized at the time, however, so the true sixteenth Pope John called himself John XVII. The true seventeenth pope called John took the regnal number XVIII. The true sequence of numbering has never been corrected.

References

 This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "Pope John XVIII (XIX)". Catholic Encyclopedia. Robert Appleton Company. 

Catholic Church titles
Preceded by John XVII	Pope 1004–09	Succeeded by Sergius IV