Pope Celestine III ( la, Caelestinus III; c. 1106 – 8 January 1198), was the head of the
Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwide . It is am ...
and ruler of the
Papal States
The Papal States ( ; it, Stato Pontificio, ), officially the State of the Church ( it, Stato della Chiesa, ; la, Status Ecclesiasticus;), were a series of territories in the Italian Peninsula under the direct sovereign rule of the pope fro ...
from 30 March or 10 April 1191 to his death in 1198. He had a tense relationship with several monarchs, including
Emperor Henry VI
Henry VI (German: ''Heinrich VI.''; November 1165 – 28 September 1197), a member of the Hohenstaufen dynasty, was King of Germany (King of the Romans) from 1169 and Holy Roman Emperor from 1191 until his death. From 1194 he was also King of Sic ...
, King
Tancred of Sicily
Tancred ( it, Tancredi; 113820 February 1194) was King of Sicily from 1189 to 1194. He was born in Lecce an illegitimate son of Roger III, Duke of Apulia (the eldest son of King Roger II) by his mistress Emma, a daughter of Achard II, Count o ...
, and King
Alfonso IX of León
Alfonso IX (15 August 117123 or 24 September 1230) was King of León and Galicia from the death of his father Ferdinand II in 1188 until his own death.
He took steps towards modernizing and democratizing his dominion and founded the Universit ...
.
Early career
Giacinto Bobone was born into the noble
Orsini family
The House of Orsini is an Italian noble family that was one of the most influential princely families in medieval Italy and Renaissance Rome. Members of the Orsini family include five popes: Stephen II (752-757), Paul I (757-767), Celestine I ...
in
Rome
, established_title = Founded
, established_date = 753 BC
, founder = King Romulus ( legendary)
, image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg
, map_caption ...
. He was appointed as
cardinal-deacon
A cardinal ( la, Sanctae Romanae Ecclesiae cardinalis, literally 'cardinal of the Holy Roman Church') is a senior member of the clergy of the Catholic Church. Cardinals are created by the ruling pope and typically hold the title for life. Col ...
in 1144 by
Celestine II
Pope Celestine II ( la, Caelestinus II; died 8 March 1144), born Guido di Castello,Thomas, pg. 91 was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 26 September 1143 to his death in 1144.
Early life
Guido di Castello, possibly ...
or
Lucius II
Pope Lucius II (died 15 February 1145), born Gherardo Caccianemici dal Orso, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 9 March 1144 to his death in 1145. His pontificate was notable for the unrest in Rome associated wi ...
. Considered by the
Roman Curia as an expert on
Spain
, image_flag = Bandera de España.svg
, image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg
, national_motto = '' Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond")
, national_anthem = (English: "Royal March")
, ...
, Bobone conducted two legatine missions to Spain in (1154–55) and (1172–75) as the
Cardinal-Deacon of Santa Maria in Cosmedin.
Pontificate
Celestine was elected on 29/30 March 1191 and ordained a priest 13 April 1191. He crowned Emperor Henry VI on the day after his
election
An election is a formal group decision-making process by which a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold public office.
Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative democracy has operat ...
in 1191. In 1192, Celestine recognized
Tancred
Tancred or Tankred is a masculine given name of Germanic origin that comes from ''thank-'' (thought) and ''-rath'' (counsel), meaning "well-thought advice". It was used in the High Middle Ages mainly by the Normans (see French Tancrède) and espe ...
as king of Sicily, despite Henry VI's wife's claim. He threatened to
excommunicate
Excommunication is an institutional act of religious censure used to end or at least regulate the communion of a member of a congregation with other members of the religious institution who are in normal communion with each other. The purpose ...
Henry VI for wrongfully keeping King
Richard I of England
Richard I (8 September 1157 – 6 April 1199) was King of England from 1189 until his death in 1199. He also ruled as Duke of Normandy, Duke of Aquitaine, Aquitaine and Duchy of Gascony, Gascony, Lord of Cyprus, and Count of Poitiers, Co ...
imprisoned, but he could do little else since the College of cardinals were against it. He placed
Pisa
Pisa ( , or ) is a city and ''comune'' in Tuscany, central Italy, straddling the Arno just before it empties into the Ligurian Sea. It is the capital city of the Province of Pisa. Although Pisa is known worldwide for its leaning tower, the ci ...
under an
interdict
In Catholic canon law, an interdict () is an ecclesiastical censure, or ban that prohibits persons, certain active Church individuals or groups from participating in certain rites, or that the rites and services of the church are banished from ...
, which was lifted by his successor,
Innocent III
Pope Innocent III ( la, Innocentius III; 1160 or 1161 – 16 July 1216), born Lotario dei Conti di Segni (anglicized as Lothar of Segni), was the head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 8 January 1198 to his death in 16 ...
in 1198.
Celestine, in 1192, sent a cardinal-priest of St. Lorenzo, Cinthius, to Denmark to address the discord between the Danish princes. Upon Cinthius' return to Rome, Celestine issued three papal bulls;''Cum Romana ecclesia'', ''Etsi sedes debeat'', ''Quanto magnitudinem tuam''. These bulls advised the archbishop Absalon of Lund to instruct the King of Denmark to release the bishop of Schleswig. The bulls also threatened to excommunicate the offending Duke Valdemar, who had imprisoned the bishop of Schleswig, and place the kingdom of Denmark under interdict. The bishop would stay imprisoned until Pope Innocent III restarted the process in 1203.
Celestine condemned King
Alfonso IX of León
Alfonso IX (15 August 117123 or 24 September 1230) was King of León and Galicia from the death of his father Ferdinand II in 1188 until his own death.
He took steps towards modernizing and democratizing his dominion and founded the Universit ...
for his marriage to
Theresa of Portugal on the grounds of consanguinity. Portugal and León were placed under interdict. Then, in 1196, he excommunicated Alfonso IX for allying with the
Almohad Caliphate
The Almohad Caliphate (; ar, خِلَافَةُ ٱلْمُوَحِّدِينَ or or from ar, ٱلْمُوَحِّدُونَ, translit=al-Muwaḥḥidūn, lit=those who profess the unity of God) was a North African Berber Muslim empire ...
while making war on Castile. Following his marriage with
Berengaria of Castile
Berengaria ( Castilian: ''Berenguela''; nicknamed the Great (Castilian: la Grande); 1179 or 1180 – 8 November 1246) was reigning Queen of CastileThe full title was ''Regina Castelle et Toleti'' (Queen of Castille and Toledo). for a brief tim ...
, Celestine excommunicated Alfonso and placed an interdict over León.
In December 1196, Celestine issued a bull acknowledging the possessions of the
Teutonic Knights
The Order of Brothers of the German House of Saint Mary in Jerusalem, commonly known as the Teutonic Order, is a Catholic religious institution founded as a military society in Acre, Kingdom of Jerusalem. It was formed to aid Christians o ...
.
Death
Celestine would have
resigned the papacy and recommended a successor (Cardinal
Giovanni di San Paolo
Giovanni di San Paolo (died c. early 1215) was a Benedictine monk at San Paolo fuori le Muri in Rome. He was made cardinal-deacon on 20 February 1193, then cardinal priest of Santa Prisca in May 1193 and finally cardinal bishop of Sabina at the en ...
,
O.S.B.
, image = Medalla San Benito.PNG
, caption = Design on the obverse side of the Saint Benedict Medal
, abbreviation = OSB
, formation =
, motto = (English: 'Pray and Work')
, found ...
) shortly before his death, but was not allowed to do so by the cardinals.
[Karl Holder, ''Die Designation der Nachfolger durch die Päpste'' (Freiburg Switzerland: B. Veith 1892), pp. 69-70.]
See also
*
List of popes
This chronological list of popes corresponds to that given in the ''Annuario Pontificio'' under the heading "I Sommi Pontefici Romani" (The Roman Supreme Pontiffs), excluding those that are explicitly indicated as antipopes. Published every ye ...
*
Cardinals created by Celestine III
References
Sources
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External links
''initial text from the 9th edition (1876) of an old encyclopedia''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Celestine 3
Popes
Italian popes
12th-century Italian cardinals
Diplomats of the Holy See
Orsini family
1100s births
1198 deaths
12th-century popes
Burials at the Archbasilica of Saint John Lateran