{"id":"pope-john-xii","type":"person","url":"https://diginpl.com/people/pope-john-xii","language":"en","name":"Pope John XII","name_en":"Pope John XII","name_ne":null,"description":"Head of the Catholic Church from 955 to 964","headline":"Head of the Catholic Church from 955 to 964","also_known_as":[],"summary":"Pope John XII (Latin: Ioannes XII; c. 930/937 – 14 May 964), born Octavian, was the bishop of Rome and ruler of the Papal States from 16 December 955 to his death in 964. He was related to the counts of Tusculum, a powerful Roman family which had dominated papal politics for over half a century. He became Pope somewhere between the ages of 17 and 25. If he was 17 then he may have been the youngest Pope in history; if not, that title may belong to Benedict IX, who was between the ages of 11 and 20 when elected.","summary_more":["In 960, he clashed with the Lombards to the south. Unable to control Rome easily, he sought help from King Otto I of Germany and crowned him emperor. John XII's pontificate became infamous for the alleged depravity and worldliness with which he conducted his office. He soon fell out with Otto who, in 963, convened a synod in Rome which purported to depose John XII for his crimes and elect Leo VIII as his successor. John XII died several months after the synod declared him to be deposed.","He is almost universally regarded as one of the worst Popes in history."],"facts":[{"key":"born","label":"Born","values":[{"text":"937","date":"0937"}],"source":{"label":"Wikidata","url":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q172933#P569"}},{"key":"birthplace","label":"Place of birth","values":[{"text":"Rome","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q220"}],"source":{"label":"Wikidata","url":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q172933#P19"}},{"key":"died","label":"Died","values":[{"text":"14 May 964","date":"0964-05-14"}],"source":{"label":"Wikidata","url":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q172933#P570"}},{"key":"deathplace","label":"Place of death","values":[{"text":"Rome","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q220"}],"source":{"label":"Wikidata","url":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q172933#P20"}},{"key":"occupation","label":"Occupation","values":[{"text":"Catholic priest","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q250867"},{"text":"ruler","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1097498"},{"text":"writer","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q36180"}],"source":{"label":"Wikidata","url":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q172933#P106"}},{"key":"positions","label":"Positions held","values":[{"text":"Pope (16 December 955 – 14 May 964)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q19546","start":"0955-12-16","end":"0964-05-14"}],"source":{"label":"Wikidata","url":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q172933#P39"}}],"office":null,"sections":[],"cited":[],"cited_from":null,"videos":[],"last_reviewed":null,"organizations":[],"same_as":["https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pope_John_XII","https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q172933"],"faq":[{"q":"When was Pope John XII born?","a":"Pope John XII was born on 937 in Rome."},{"q":"What positions has Pope John XII held?","a":"Positions held by Pope John XII include: Pope (0955–0964)."}],"related":[{"name":"Pope Telesphorus","url":"https://diginpl.com/people/pope-telesphorus"},{"name":"Pope Gregory XIII","url":"https://diginpl.com/people/pope-gregory-xiii"},{"name":"Pope Clement VII","url":"https://diginpl.com/people/pope-clement-vii"},{"name":"Pope Pius I","url":"https://diginpl.com/people/pope-pius-i"},{"name":"Pope Boniface I","url":"https://diginpl.com/people/pope-boniface-i"},{"name":"Pope Agapetus I","url":"https://diginpl.com/people/pope-agapetus-i"}],"places_in":[],"nearby":[],"image":{"url":"https://diginpl.com/kb-img/pope-john-xii-49279ef255.jpg","width":147,"height":262,"license":"Public domain","credit":null,"page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Otto_I_begegnet_Papst_Johannes_XII_(cropped).jpg"},"sources":[{"label":"Wikipedia (English): Pope John XII","url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pope_John_XII","license":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/"},{"label":"Wikidata item Q172933","url":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q172933","license":"https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/"},{"label":"Image: Otto I begegnet Papst Johannes XII (cropped).jpg (Public domain)","url":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Otto_I_begegnet_Papst_Johannes_XII_(cropped).jpg","license":null}],"license":{"text":"CC BY-SA 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/","facts":"https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/"},"attribution":"Text from the Wikipedia article Pope John XII, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. This page's text is shared under the same licence. Facts from Wikidata (CC0). Image: Otto I begegnet Papst Johannes XII (cropped).jpg, Public domain.","cite":"\"Pope John XII\". DigiNepal. Last updated 3 November 2026. https://diginpl.com/people/pope-john-xii. Retrieved 5 November 2026.","date_modified":"2026-11-03T06:43:32Z","facts_checked":"2026-11-05","alternates":{"html":"https://diginpl.com/people/pope-john-xii","en":"https://diginpl.com/people/pope-john-xii","ne":"https://diginpl.com/people/pope-john-xii?lang=ne"}}