Pope Stephen VII (d. August, 897) was Pope from May 22, 896 to August 897. He had been made bishop of Anagni by Pope Formosus. 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. Unverified sources claim that during the Cadaver Synod, the unhinged young Pope demanded of the fully-uniformed corpse: "Why did you usurp this See of the Apostle?" Whereat a young deacon crouching nearby shouted, "Because I was evil."