113th Pope of the Catholic Church. Pontificate 896 - 897. Stephen is chiefly remembered in connexion with his conduct towards the remains of Pope Formosus, his last predecessor but one. Doubtless under pressure from the Spoleto contingent (1) and fueled by Stephen's fury with his predecessor, the rotting corpse of Formosus was exhumed and put on trial in the so-called Cadaver Synod. The circumstances of his election are unclear, but he was sponsored by one of the powerful Roman families, the house of Spoleto, that contested the papacy at the time.