STEPHEN VII (OR VIII)

born , Rome died February 931, Rome pope from 929 to 931. As cardinal priest of St. Anastasia, Rome, he was active in the administration of the Roman Church before his consecration in December 928 as Pope Leo VI's successor. His election was probably influenced by Marozia, senatrix of Rome, whose powerful family, the house of Theophylact, controlled the papacy. He extended privileges to Italian and French monasteries, but otherwise the history of his pontificate is practically unknown. He may have been assassinated.