Pope Leo VI lives in the shroud of mystery and corruption. He reigned for seven months and five days in a time in church history known as saeculum obsurum, a period in the 10th century marked by moral decay, political corruption, and the wealthy seeking to seize control of the Church. It was a period in history noted for exhuming the body of another dead pope and putting him on trial.

Amidst the corruption of the Church, Leo VI was not chosen by the traditional means of the Catholic Church in this era. In this complex history, Leo VI found Rome under attack. Lacking a sufficient army, he promised that those who would help protect Rome would enter the heavenly kingdom.

There is not much I can offer as a takeaway regarding this short-lived pope. I rest assured that even amid such corruption, the Holy Spirit sustained the Church and never abandoned her, regardless of the competence of its leadership.