Saint Stephen IV

Pope Stephen IV (Latin: Stephanus IV; died 24 January 817) was the bishop of Rome and ruler of the Papal States from June 816 to his death on 24 January 817. Stephen belonged to a noble Roman family. In October 816, he crowned Louis the Pious as emperor at Reims, and persuaded him to release some Roman political prisoners he held in custody. He returned to Rome, by way of Ravenna, sometime in November and died the following January. The son of a Roman noble called Marinus, Stephen belonged to the same family which also produced the Popes Sergius II and Adrian II. The Liber Censuum says that Stephen was from the Massimi branch of the Massimo family, as was his successor, Paschal I. At a young age he was raised at the Lateran Palace during the pontificate of Adrian I, and it was under Leo III that he was ordained a subdeacon before he was subsequently made a deacon. Very popular among the Roman people, within ten days of Leo III's death, he was escorted to Saint Peter's Basilica and consecrated bishop of Rome on or about 22 June 816. It has been conjectured that his rapid election was an attempt by the Roman clergy to ensure that the Carolingian emperor Louis the Pious could not interfere. Immediately after his consecration Stephen ordered the Roman people to swear fidelity to Emperor Louis, after which Stephen sent envoys to the emperor notifying him of his election, and to arrange a meeting between the two at the emperor's convenience. With Louis' invitation, Stephen left Rome in August 816. Louis's nephew, King Bernard of Italy, was ordered to accompany Stephen to the emperor and the two crossed the Alps together. In early October, the pope and the emperor met at Rheims, where Louis prostrated himself three times before Stephen. At Mass on Sunday, 5 October 816, Stephen anointed Louis as emperor, placing a crown on his head that was claimed to belong to Constantine the Great.