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Stephen II/III, Pope of Rome
VIII Century
An orphan raised in the Lateran, Stephen II/III was a deacon
when chosen to succeed
Stephen II in 752. The following year,
he became the first pope to cross the Alps when he travelled
to meet Pepin III the Short and to seek protection for Rome.
In 754, Stephen made Pepin, Charlemagne, and Carloman kings of
the Romans, and when Pepin's army defeated the Lombards in 756,
Pepin presented the pope with Ravenna, Rome, Venetia, and Istria,
the properties that became the Papal States. Stephen restored and
improved churches, and he saw that the Roman rite replaced the
Gallican mass. He died in 757.
Karen Rae Keck
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