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Pope Benedict VI (Latin: Benedictus VI) was Pope from 19 January 973 to his death in 974. His brief pontificate occurred in the political context of the establishment of the Holy Roman Empire, during the transition between the reigns of German emperors Otto I and Otto II, incorporating the struggle for power of Roman aristocratic families such as the Crescentii and Tusculani.
On the death of Pope John XIII in September 972, the majority of the electors who adhered to the imperial faction chose Benedict to be his successor. He was not consecrated until January 973, due to the need to gain the approval of the Holy Roman Emperor, Otto I. Installed as pope under the protection of Otto I, Benedict was seen as a puppet of the emperor by the local Roman aristocracy who resented the emperor’s dominance in Roman civil and ecclesiastical affairs.
Benedict was succeeded, after the overthrow of the Antipope Boniface VII, by Pope Benedict VII. | 
