BENEDICT IX (1020-1055?), Pope

One of the several strong contenders for the title of history's worst pope, Benedict IX was appointed to the papal office in 1032, at the age of twelve, because the council responsible for making such appointments wished to keep the papacy under their control. Benedict is best remembered for the devotion he showed to homosexual orgies while serving as pope, and for his efforts to cash in on his position by selling the rights to the various titles he controlled. Finally, he ran out of lower offices and sold the papacy itself to his uncle, Johannes Gratianus, in 1044. He subsequently reclaimed the office for two brief periods, but was run out of Rome. Benedict died in obscurity some years later.