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Pope Damasus II, born Poppo de' Curagnoni, was Pope from 17 July 1048 to his death on 9 August that same year. He was the second of the German pontiffs nominated by Emperor Henry III. A native of Bavaria, he was the third German to become Pope and had one of the shortest papal reigns.
Upon the death of Clement II, envoys from Rome were sent to the Emperor to ascertain who should be named pope. Henry named the Bishop of Brixen, Poppo de' Curagnoni. While the envoys were away, former pope Benedict IX reasserted himself and with the assistance of the disaffected Margrave of Tuscany once again assumed the papacy. Henry ordered Margrave Boniface to escort Bishop Poppo to Rome, but Boniface declined, pointing out that the Romans had already enthroned Benedict. Enraged, the Emperor ordered the Margrave to depose Benedict or suffer the consequences. Poppo became Pope in mid-July but died of malaria less than a month later, in Palestrina, where he had gone to avoid the heat of the city. |
