Holy See / Papa Stephanus Tertius (Pope Stephen III)

Pope Stephen III (Latin: Stephanus III) was the Pope from 7 August 768 to his death in 772.

Stephen was a Benedictine monk who worked in the Lateran Palace during the tenure of Pope Zachary. In the midst of a tumultuous contest by rival factions to name a successor to Pope Paul I, Stephen was elected with the support of the Roman officials. He summoned the Lateran Council of 769 which sought to limit the influence of the nobles in papal elections. The Council also opposed iconoclasm.

In some old sources, this pope is called Stephen IV and Pope Stephen II is called Stephen III.