Pope: John XVII #141, VRP Catholic Media 2024.
The papal records skip from pope John XV to XVII, leaving out a John XVI. This was in order to avoid association with the unfortunate case of Anti-pope John XVI. Assuming the title of John XVII, this short reigned pontiff was previously married with three children; all of whom entered into ecclesiastical service.
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Read from, Popes through the Ages, Third Edition, (1980, Joseph S. Brusher, S.J.).
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Pope: John XVIII #142, VRP Catholic Media 2024.
Caught in a struggle for temporal power in Rome between Emperor Henry II and John Crescentius, this pope was at least able to create a temporary reproach between the eastern and western churches. He authorized the Diocese of Bamberg which acted as a missionary base to the Slavs. He abdicated and spent the remainder of his life in a monastary.
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Read from, Popes through the Ages, Third Edition, (1980, Joseph S. Brusher, S.J.).
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Pope: Sergius IV #143, VRP Catholic Media 2024.
From humble origins, this son of a shoemaker rose to the highest position in the Church. In 1010, the Saracens destroyed the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem. As a reaction to the horrific news, devotion and pilgrimages spread throughout Christendom and the crusading movement began to take shape. Pope Sergius is said to have issued a bull calling on the kings and princes of Europe to eradicate the anti-Christian menace from the Holy Land. Though not officially canonized, he is considered a saint by the Benedictine Order.
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Read from, Popes through the Ages, Third Edition, (1980, Joseph S. Brusher, S.J.).
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Pope: Benedict VIII #144, VRP Catholic Media 2024. The House of Tusculum mounts the Papal throne, a branch of the famous Roman family of Theophlyactus. This pope raised an army and dislodged the Saracen menace from Tuscany, he also rallied his Catholic allies in Genoa and Pisa into seizing Sardinia from Moslem defilement.
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Read from, Popes through the Ages, Third Edition, (1980, Joseph S. Brusher, S.J.).
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Pope: John XIX #145, VRP Catholic Media 2024.
Though he was a brother of the previous pope Benedict VIII and a layman, John XIX was elected pope in 1021. Subsequently, he was ordained in all of the orders and consecrated bishop. His name was stricken from the diptychs of the Eastern Church after rejecting an appeal from the Patriarch of Constantinople proposing his equal authority with the pope in the West. The great composer and monk Guido D' Arezzo gained the support of this pontiff for his contributions to sacred music.
Learn more about the papacy and Western history at VRP Catholic History.
Read from, Popes through the Ages, Third Edition, (1980, Joseph S. Brusher, S.J.).
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Popes: Benedict IX #146, VRP Catholic Media 2024. This controversial pontiff is often considered one of the worst in the history of the Church. After abdicating the office for a large sum of money from future pope Gregory VI, he grew bored with retirement and twice returned to Rome clamoring for his right to the papacy. The emperor ordered his removal and the end of his life is shrouded in obscurity. Though an objectively bad pope, he never taught error or false doctrine. Learn more about the papacy and Western history at VRP Catholic History.
Read from, Popes through the Ages, Third Edition, (1980, Joseph S. Brusher, S.J.).
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Popes: Clement II #148, VRP Catholic Media 2024. During a time of anarchy in the Papal States, the Church faced several claimants to the papacy. With the best of intentions, Gregory purchased the office of St. Peter. Even St. Peter Damian had sent him congratulations. However, his short papacy ended with the recognition of his sin of simony and subsequent resignation after the Council of Sutri.
Learn more about the papacy and Western history at VRP Catholic History.
Read from, Popes through the Ages, Third Edition, (1980, Joseph S. Brusher, S.J.).
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Popes: Clement II #148, VRP Catholic Media 2024.
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Popes: Damasus II #149, VRP Catholic Media 2024. Nominated for the papacy by Emperor Henry III, this pontiff had one of the shortest reigns in history. The former pope, Benedict IX, had to be forcibly removed before Damasus could take the reigns of the bark of Peter for himself. Learn more about the papacy and Western history at VRP Catholic History.
Read from, Popes through the Ages, Third Edition, (1980, Joseph S. Brusher, S.J.).
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Popes: St. Leo IX #150, VRP Catholic Media 2024. One of the most historically significant popes of the Middle Ages, this canonized pontiff gathered together the higher clergy around Europe and passed reform decrees dealing with simony and clerical marriage. His actions helped to precipitate the Great Schism of 1051. He was captured after the papal army were defeated by the Normans in south Italy.
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Read from, Popes through the Ages, Third Edition, (1980, Joseph S. Brusher, S.J.).
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Popes: Victor II #151, VRP Catholic Media 2024.

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Popes: Stephen X #152, VRP Catholic Media 2024. Made chancellor by Pope Leo IX in 1051, he was one of three legates sent to Constantinople who saw the failure of negotiations with Patriarch Michael I Cerularius; leading to a permanent start to the East-West schism. As pope, he enforced the Gregorian Reform and worked to expel the Normans from southern Italy. In modern times, this pope is known as Stephen IX. His papacy lasted only a year, it is said he was poisoned by the Romans. Learn more about the papacy and Western history at VRP Catholic History.
Read from, Popes through the Ages, Third Edition, (1980, Joseph S. Brusher, S.J.).
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Popes: Alexander II #154, VRP Catholic Media 2024. Declared deposed by a German synod, this pontiff maintained his authority with the support of Robert Guiscard and the Normans. In his short pontificate, he condemned Berengarius; a Frenchman who denied transubstantiation. He also renewed the papal election decrees of 1061 and foster reform in the Church. Learn more about the papacy and Western history at VRP Catholic History.
Read from, Popes through the Ages, Third Edition, (1980, Joseph S. Brusher, S.J.).
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Popes: Alexander II #154, VRP Catholic Media 2024. This pontiff studied under the cleric and renowned physician Lanfranc. When Henry IV set up Antipope Honorius II, despite opposition from St. Peter Damian, the Duke of Tuscany helped secure the papal throne for Alexander. Holding a synod at the Lateran in 1063, he condemned Honorius and passed a decree forbidding lay folk from hearing the Mass from a priest living unchastely. Learn more about the papacy at VRP Catholic History.
Read from, Popes through the Ages, Third Edition, (1980, Joseph S. Brusher, S.J.).
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Popes: St. Gregory VII #155, VRP Catholic Media 2024. One of the great reforming popes, this sainted head of the Church excommunicated Emperor Henry IV, who set up Antipope Clement III to oppose him. The emperor resorted to travelling to the pope and begging for absolution, this is known as the Road to Canossa. A defended of papal primacy, Gregory established the cannon law for electing the pope through a College of Cardinals.
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Popes: Blessed Victor III #156, VRP Catholic Media. Determined to be a monk, this pope was forced flee from his relatives in order to gain the habit. As a Benedictine, he undertook a number of building projects and beautified his church with artists imported from Constantinople. Forcibly enthroned by the cardinals and clergy, four days later, he put off the papal insignia and fled to Monte Casino. He eventually conceded and held a council at Benevento which condemned both antipope Guibert (Clement III) and lay investiture.
Learn more about the fate of this tortured head of the Church @VRPCatholic
Read from, Popes through the Ages, Third Edition, (1980, Joseph S. Brusher, S.J.).
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Popes: Blessed Urban II #157, VRP Catholic Media.
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Popes: Paschal II #158, VRP Catholic Media. A monk from his youth, when this pope learned he was chosen to succeed Urban II, he fled. When he condemned lay investiture, Henry V marched on Rome to claim the imperial coronation and permission to continue the practice. Paschal sought a compromise to end the Investiture Controversy once and for all. This failed and Henry took the pope captive after he was refused the crown. Learn more about the fate of this tortured head of the Church @VRPCatholic
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Candy Clarinet?
Well, there is a time of year, isn't there, when the demand for licorice sticks appreciably declines and sales graphs of candy walking canes zoom madly upwards?
Everyone knows when that is. So, in anticipation of December 25th, here is Pete Fountain's clarinet, candy-striped, holiday-flavored and Christmas-wrapped, to brighten up the festivities in New Orléans style.

Pete came up with a joyful program of Christmas favorites - all the big ones like Jingle Bells, Silver Bells, White Christmas, The Christmas Song, and Santa Claus is Comin' to Town - and added some that are less familiar, but good, including an original authored by "Bud" Dant and himself. It's title, if you've not guessed, is Candy Clarinet!

The numbers, in fact, seem to cover every possible eventuality in a swinging holiday season. They announce that both Santa Claus and Christmas are coming, and they bring on the sound of the little drummer boy, not to mention two kinds of bells. Songwriters Sammy Cahn and Jule Styne having expressed a popular sentiment in Let it Snow! Let it Snow! Let it Snow!, it is hardly surprising that a Winter Wonderland and a White Christmas should result. But how about Blue Christmas? Be not concerned. Just wait until you hear how that candy-striped clarinet fixes it. Then there is the assurance that I'll be Home for Christmas, which really finds its compliment in The Christmas Song by Mel Torme and Robert Wells, the sub-title of which is Merry Christmas To You.

The collection is another example of Pete Fountain's versatility. His familiar sound and phrasing are very audibly here, but they are flexibly adapted to fit a new need and a new situation. In the public imagination, the jazz musician is perhaps not exactly the type expected to take on the jolly cores of Santa Claus, yet his charitable instincts are probably as well developed as those of any other member of society. Certainly, there is o questioning the good will expressed through his Candy Clarine..

Popes: Gelasius II #159, VRP Catholic Media. Soon after his election, this poor pope was captured, beaten, and dragged by the hair into a dungeon by a member of the Frangipani family. Once his release was secured, he excommunicated Emperor Henry V and his antipope Gregory VIII. Disgusted with Rome, this pontiff left for France where he was treated royally.
Read from, Popes through the Ages, Third Edition, (1980, Joseph S. Brusher, S.J.).
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Popes: Callixtus II #160, VRP Catholic Media. The Investiture Controversy was settled during this popes reign. Reluctant to accept his election, he conceded and sent papal legates to the Diet of Worms in 1122. A concordat between Church and State was signed, and Emperor Henry V ensured the independence of papal election. Callixtus also held the First Lateran Council, which declared any marriage of the clergy invalid. Previously, the practice had been illicit and sinful though still considered valid.
Read from, Popes through the Ages, Third Edition, (1980, Joseph S. Brusher, S.J.).
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Popes: Honorius II #161, VRP Catholic Media. This 12th century pontiff confirmed the Premonstratensian Order and approved the Knights Templar. In order to avoid schism, this pontiff resigned upon his election; however, he was quickly reelected.
Read from, Popes through the Ages, Third Edition, (1980, Joseph S. Brusher, S.J.).
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Popes: Innocent II #162, VRP Catholic Media. The Church faced schism during the reign of this medieval pope when the Pier Leoni faction elected antipope Antecletus II, otherwise known as the Jewish pope. Innocent II found the support of both St. Bernard and St. Norbert who rallied the Emperor to his cause. In a dispute with Roger of Sicily, the popes army was defeated by the Normans. He along with his entire court were taken prisoner and forced to come to terms.
Read from, Popes through the Ages, Third Edition, (1980, Joseph S. Brusher, S.J.).
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Popes: Celestine II #163, VRP Catholic Media. Unanimously elected, this student of Peter Abelard removed the interdict placed on king Louis VII during the pontificate of his predecessor.

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Popes: Lucius II #164, VRP Catholic Media.
It is said that this leader of the Church fell in battle.
Read from, Popes through the Ages, Third Edition, (1980, Joseph S. Brusher, S.J.).
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