Editing Pope Benedict IX (section)

==Early life==
Benedict was the son of Count [[Alberic III of Tusculum]].{{sfn|Pham|2004|p=56}} He was closely related to several popes, being a nephew of [[Benedict VIII]] and John XIX, grandnephew of [[Pope John XII|John XII]], great-grandnephew of [[Pope John XI|John XI]], first cousin twice removed of [[Benedict VII]], and possibly a distant relative of [[Pope Sergius III|Sergius III]]. His father obtained the papal chair for him by [[simony|bribing]] the Romans.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Miranda |first=Salvador |title=The Cardinals of the Holy Roman Church |date=30 April 2010 |chapter=Pope Benedict VIII (1012-1024) |chapter-url=http://www2.fiu.edu/~mirandas/biosunknowndate1012-1024.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180215124017/http://www2.fiu.edu/~mirandas/biosunknowndate1012-1024.htm |archive-date=15 February 2018 }}</ref> 

Benedict IX was about twenty when [[papal selection before 1059|made pontiff]] in October 1032.<ref name=":1">{{Cite journal |last=Mann |first=Horace |year=1909 |title=Pope Gregory VI |url=https://www.newadvent.org/cathen/06791a.htm |journal=[[Catholic Encyclopedia]] |volume=6 |via=[[New Advent]]}}</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite journal |last=Mathis |first=Agostino |year=1915 |title=Il Pontefice Benedetto IX. Appunti critici di storia mediovale |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rXT_akD9sg8C |journal=[[La Civiltà Cattolica]] |volume=66 |issue=4 |pages=549–571 |via=[[Google Books]]}}</ref> Other sources state that he was 11 or 12, based upon the unsubstantiated testimony of [[Rodulfus Glaber]], a monk of St. Germanus at Auxerre.<ref name="Poole" /><ref name=":0" /> If Glaber was correct, Benedict IX was the youngest Pope in history. If he was incorrect, that honor may belong to [[Pope John XII]], who was between the ages of 17 and 25 when he was elected.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2017-01-27 |title=Pope John XII - The 130th Pope - PopeHistory.com |url=https://popehistory.com/popes/pope-john-xii/ |access-date=2025-05-08 |website=popehistory.com |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2025-05-04 |title=John XII {{!}} Pope, Death, Roman Catholicism, & Facts {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/John-XII |access-date=2025-05-08 |website=www.britannica.com |language=en}}</ref>

===Family tree===
{{Marozia's popes}}