Pope Saint Zachary (
Greek Zacharias),
pope (
741-752). He came from a Greek family of
Calabria. Most probably he was a deacon of the Roman Church and as such signed the decrees of the Roman council of 732; and was on intimate terms with
Gregory III, whom he succeeded in 10th December 741.
Zachary was a wise and subtle
diplomat. Finding that his predecessor's alliance with the
Lombard Duke of
Spoleto was not protecting Papal cities against the
Lombard king, Zachary turned to
Liutprand directly. Contemporary history (
Liber pontificalis) dwells chiefly on Zachary's great personal influence with Liutprand, and with his successor
Ratchis; his tact in dealing with these princes in a variety of emergencies contributed to save the
exarchate of Ravenna from the Lombard attacks.
A correspondence, of considerable extent, and great interest, between Zachary and
Saint Boniface, the apostle of
Germany, survives, and shows how great was the influence of this pope on events then passing in
France and Germany; he encouraged the deposition of the last
Merovingian king of the Franks,
Childeric III, and it was with his sanction that Boniface crowned
Pepin the Short as King of the Franks at
Soissons in 752. Zachary is stated to have remonstrated with the
Byzantine emperor Constantine V Copronymus on the part he had taken in the
iconoclastic controversy. He died
March 22, 752, and buried in
St. Peter's Basilica. His successor was
Stephen who died soon after, before consecration and is not considered a valid pope. He was then succeeded by another Stephen who became
Stephen II.
In the effort to Christianize
Rome, Zachary built the original church of
Santa Maria sopra Minerva over an ancient temple to
Minerva near
Pantheon. He also restored the
Lateran Palace, moving the relic of the head of
Saint George to the church of
San Giorgio al Velabro.
The letters and decrees of Zachary are published in
Jacques Paul Migne, Patrolog. lat. lxxxix. p. 917-960.
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