St. Leo IX

St. Leo IX was born in June 1002 in Egisheim, Alsace. He was a deacon, and he was a soldier and officer in the imperial army. He became a bishop in France in 1021 and then became the 151st pope in February of 1049. He fought simony, which is the selling or purchase of spiritual goods. St. Leo IX enforced clerical celibacy, reformed parishes and encouraged the use of chant. Nicknamed the Pilgrim Pope, he traveled throughout Europe to enforce his reforms. St. Leo IX held a number of synods, and he proposed that only cardinals elect the pope. He died April 19, 1054.