Our May UBCF question asked who was the only pope in history to serve more than once, and the only one to have ever been accused of selling the papacy!
Pope Benedict IX, who lived from 1012 to 1056, was one of the youngest popes in history, being first elected at about the age of 20, serving as pope on three occasions between October 1032 and July 1048. He was first expelled from the papacy and succeeded by Sylvester III. He returned to reclaim the papacy in April 1045 and was persuaded to sell the papacy to Pope Gregory VI in order to avoid a scandal. Pope Gregory VI was also encouraged to resign in favor of his successor, Pope Clement II; but, regretting his resignation, Benedict IX returned to Rome and remained on the throne until July 1046, although Gregory VI continued to be recognized as the true pope.