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Stephen III
pope
SaintResearchedPapal StatesBenedictinesDate unknown
Born
720
verified
Died
772
verified
Beatified
—
not on record
Canonised
—
not on record
Who they were
Stephen, a Sicilian and Benedictine monk ordained by Pope Zachary, was elected pope in 768 after the expulsion of the antipope Constantine.
A Lateran council under him forbade laymen to be elected pope. He died in August 772 and is honoured as a saint in some martyrologies.
The miracles
There was never a formal cause: he has been honoured as a saint since before the Church's formal processes began.
Why that counted as sanctity
A monk-pope who restored order to papal elections.
Sources
- Catholic Encyclopedia (1913), via New Advent - Pope Stephen (III) IV
- Wikidata Q320531 — dates, feast day and identifiers (CC0)
- English Wikipedia — Pope Stephen III (CC BY-SA)
Checked against the sources listed on 21 September 2026. Corrections welcome.