Date of birth unknown; consecrated about 31 July, 1009; d. 12 May, 1012. Peter Pig's Snout (Bucca Porci) was the son of Peter the Shoemaker, of the ninth region of Rome (Pina), and before he became Sergius IV had been bishop of Albano (1004-9). He checked the power of the Patricius, John Crescentius, who dominated Rome by strengthening the party in favour of the Germans. Little is known of the doings of Sergius except that by grants of privilege, the papyrus originals of some of which still exist, he exempted several monasteries from episcopal jurisdiction. Though his own temporal power was small, various nobles placed their lands under his protection. He showed himself a great friend of the poor in a time of famine, and was buried in the Lateran Basilica.
Liber Pontificalis, II, 267; Letters, Privileges of Sergius, in P.L., CXXXIX; MANN, Lives of the Popes in the early Middle Ages, V (St. Louis, 1910), 142 sq.
APA citation. (1912). Pope Sergius IV. In The Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company. http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/13729b.htm
MLA citation. "Pope Sergius IV." The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 13. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1912. <http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/13729b.htm>.
Transcription. This article was transcribed for New Advent by Herman F. Holbrook. Prayer was made without ceasing by the Church unto God for Peter. Acts 12.5.
Ecclesiastical approbation. Nihil Obstat. February 1, 1912. Remy Lafort, D.D., Censor. Imprimatur. +John Cardinal Farley, Archbishop of New York.
Contact information. The editor of New Advent is Kevin Knight. My email address is webmaster at newadvent.org. Regrettably, I can't reply to every letter, but I greatly appreciate your feedback — especially notifications about typographical errors and inappropriate ads.