Introduction
Pope John XVII (Latin: Ioannes XVII; died 6 November 1003) was Pope for about seven months from 16 May to 6 November 1003. He was born John Sicco, the son of another John Sicco, in the region of Rome then referred to as Biveretica. He succeeded Pope Silvester II.
John XVII was nominated to the papacy by John Crescentius, a Roman noble who held power in the city in opposition to Emperor Otto III. John XVII's successor, Pope John XVIII, was also selected by Crescentius.
John died on 6 November 1003 and was buried in the Lateran Basilica between the two doors of the principal façade. According to John the Deacon, his epitaph began by stating that "here is the tomb of the supreme John, who is said to be Pope, for so he was called."
Family
Before entering the priesthood, Sicco had been married and had three sons who also entered Holy Orders:
- John, Bishop of Praeneste
- Peter, a Deacon
- Andrew, a Secundicerius
Confusion over ordinals
The previous legitimate Pope John is generally considered to be John XV (985–996). John XVI (997–998) was an antipope according to official reckoning, and thus his regnal number XVI should have been reused. But this did not occur, and the sequencing has never been corrected.
Literature
- Udo Tavares (1992). "Johannes XVII.". In Bautz, Friedrich Wilhelm. Biographisch-Bibliographisches Kirchenlexikon (BBKL) (in German). 3. Herzberg: Bautz. cols. 217–220. ISBN 3-88309-035-2.
- John N. D. Kelly: Reclams Lexikon der Päpste. 2nd edition, Reclam, Stuttgart, 2005 ISBN 3-15-010588-9, sub voce.
- Antonio Sennis: Giovanni XVII. In: Massimo Bray (ed.): Enciclopedia dei Papi, Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana, Vol. 2 (Niccolò I, santo, Sisto IV), Rome, 2000, OCLC 313581688, pp. 125–126.