Benedict VI, Pope, date of birth unknown; d. August, 974 (see Ricobaldi of Ferrara, Compil. Chron., in Rer. Ital. SS. IX). Benedict, Cardinal-Deacon of St. Theodore, a Roman and the son of Hildebrand, was elected as the successor of John XIII, who died 6 September, 972; but the necessity of waiting for the ratification of the Emperor Otho delayed his consecration till 19 January, 973. Nothing is known of his deeds, except that he confirmed the privileges of some churches and monasteries. The most striking event of his pontificate is its tragic close. He was seized and thrown into the Castle of Sant’ Angelo by a faction of the nobility headed by Crescentius and the Deacon Boniface Franco, who afterwards become the antipope Boniface VII. There, after a confinement of less than two months, he was strangled by their orders, to prevent his release by Sicco, an imperial envoy, sent to Rome by Otho II.
The Catholic Encyclopedia
Pope Benedict VI
1 section
Charles G. Herbermann and others (editors)
Transcribed from a dated scan; artifacts may remain. Edition notes
Trans. None. Written in English by the contributors whose signatures close each article., The Catholic Encyclopedia, An International Work of Reference on the Constitution, Doctrine, Discipline, and History of the Catholic Church, in fifteen volumes, 1907. Public domain.