Pope John XII - Birth and Election As Pope

Birth and Election As Pope

John XII was the son of Alberic II, Patrician and self-styled prince of Rome. His mother is believed to have been Alda of Vienne, Alberic’s stepsister and the daughter of Hugh of Italy. However there is some doubt about this. Benedict of Soracte recorded that Octavianus was the son of a concubine (Genuit (Alberic) ex his principem ex concubinam filium, imposuit eis nomen Octabianus), but his Latin is unclear. If he were the son of Alda, he would have been eighteen when he became pope, and he would have been a seventh generation descendant of Charlemagne on his mother's side. If he was the son of a concubine, he would have been somewhat older, possibly up to seven years older. Born in the region of the Via Lata, the aristocratic quarter that was situated between the Quirinal Hill and the Campus Martius, he was given the name of Octavianus, a clear indicator of how the family saw themselves and the future destiny of the son of Alberic.

Sometime before his death in 954, Alberic administered an oath to the Roman nobles in St. Peter's providing that the next vacancy for the papal chair would be filled by his son Octavianus, who by this stage had entered the Church. With his father’s death, and without any opposition, he succeeded his father as Princeps of the Romans, somewhere between the ages of seventeen and twenty-four.

With the death of Agapetus II in November 955, Octavianus, who was the Cardinal deacon of the deaconry of Santa Maria in Domnica, was elected his successor on 16 December 955. His adoption of the apostolic name of John XII was the third example of a pontiff taking a regnal name upon elevation to the papal chair, the first being John II (533–535) and the second John III (561–574). Right from the start, in relation to secular issues, the new pope issued his directives under the name of Octavianus, while in all matters relating to the Church, he issued papal bulls and other material under his pontifical name of John.