The Cadaver Synod: A Dead Pope on Trial

In the year 897, the corpse of Pope Formosus was exhumed, dressed in sacred vestments, and dragged into a Roman courtroom—where it was placed on trial for crimes against the Church.

This episode of Vault investigates the Cadaver Synod, one of the strangest and most grotesque moments in papal history. From the political chaos of 9th-century Rome to the desecration of a dead pontiff, we explore how vengeance, fear, and power turned justice into theater. What began as a trial became something closer to a ritual. And what was meant to be erased still echoes.

Based entirely on documented events. Reconstructed as a recovered file.