Pope John XVIII

John XVIII became bishop of Rome in January 1004, stepping into a papacy stripped of real power. Rome was then a prize fought over by John Crescentius and Emperor Henry II, and the pope ruled in name more than fact. He held the office through five years of that struggle, then abdicated in July 1009. He died within weeks. After him, nearly every successor would take a new name upon election — Adrian VI and Marcellus II the only exceptions across five centuries.