|
I nominate Pope Formosus who looked bad enough in life (image 1) but looked far worse in death (image 2) when he was put on trial by his successor, Pope Stephen VI (image 3).
Stephen is chiefly remembered in connection with his conduct towards the remains of Pope Formosus. He wasn't real happy with some of Formosus action as Pope and had the rotting corpse of Formosus exhumed and put on trial, in the so-called Cadaver Synod in January 897.
With the corpse propped up on a throne, a deacon was appointed to answer for the deceased pontiff. The corpse was found guilty, stripped of its sacred vestments, deprived of three fingers of its right hand (the blessing fingers), clad in the garb of a layman, and quickly buried. Later it was then re-exhumed and thrown into the Tiber.
Things used to be so much more interesting in the papacy.
|