The 1145

papal election A papal conclave is a gathering of the College of Cardinals convened to elect a Bishops in the Catholic Church, bishop of Rome, also known as the pope. Catholics consider the pope to be the Apostolic succession, apostolic successor of Saint ...

followed the death of

Pope 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 wit ...

and resulted in the election of

Pope Eugene III Pope Eugene III ( la, Eugenius III; c. 1080 – 8 July 1153), born Bernardo Pignatelli, or possibly Paganelli, called Bernardo da Pisa, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 15 February 1145 to his death in 1153. He w ...

, the first pope of the

Order of Cistercians The Cistercians, () officially the Order of Cistercians ( la, (Sacer) Ordo Cisterciensis, abbreviated as OCist or SOCist), are a Catholic religious order of monks and nuns that branched off from the Benedictines and follow the Rule of Saint B ...

Election of Eugene III

Pope Lucius II, during the whole of his pontificate, had to face the municipal commune at Rome, hostile towards the secular rule of the popes in the Eternal City. The republican faction elected

Giordano Pierleoni Giordano (sometimes anglicized as Jordan) Pierleoni (in contemporary Latin, ''Jordanus filius Petrus Leonis'') was the son of the Consul Pier Leoni and therefore brother of Antipope Anacletus II and leader of the Commune of Rome which the people set ...

, brother of the former

Antipope Anacletus II Anacletus II (died January 25, 1138), born Pietro Pierleoni, was an antipope who ruled in opposition to Pope Innocent II from 1130 until his death in 1138. After the death of Pope Honorius II, the college of cardinals was divided over his succ ...

, to the post of senator, and demanded that Lucius relinquish all temporal matters into his hands. The pope refused and led a small army against the seat of the commune on Capitol. He was defeated and seriously wounded in this attack, and died on 15 February 1145 in the church of S. Gregorio in clivo scauri. The cardinals present at Rome quickly assembled in the church of

San Cesareo in Palatio San Cesareo in Palatio or San Caesareo de Appia is a titular church in Rome, near the beginning of the Appian Way. It is dedicated to Saint Caesarius of Terracina, a 2nd-century deacon and martyr. History Origins In the 4th century, Emperor Va ...

and on the very same day unanimously elected to the papacy Bernardo da Pisa, pupil of St.

Bernard of Clairvaux Bernard of Clairvaux, O. Cist. ( la, Bernardus Claraevallensis; 109020 August 1153), venerated as Saint Bernard, was an abbot, mystic, co-founder of the Knights Templars, and a major leader in the reformation of the Benedictine Order through ...

, who was abbot of the Cistercian monastery of S. Anastasio alle Tre Fontane near Rome and probably did not belong to the College of Cardinals. The elect took the name of Eugene III. Due to hostility of the Roman people, his consecration took place in the monastery of Farfa on 18 February 1145.

Cardinal-electors

There were probably 40 cardinals in the Sacred College of Cardinals in February 1145. Based on examination of the subscriptions of the papal bulls in 1145Jaffé, pp. 7 and 20 and the available data about the external missions of the cardinals it is possible to establish that no more than 34 cardinals participated in the election: Thirteen electors were created by

Pope Innocent II Pope Innocent II ( la, Innocentius II; died 24 September 1143), born Gregorio Papareschi, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 14 February 1130 to his death in 1143. His election as pope was controversial and the fi ...

, nine 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 ...

, eleven by Lucius II, one by

Pope Callixtus II Pope Callixtus II or Callistus II ( – 13 December 1124), born Guy of Burgundy, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 1 February 1119 to his death in 1124. His pontificate was shaped by the Investiture Controversy, ...

and one by Pope Paschalis II.

Absentees

Notes

Sources

* * * * * * * * {{Subject bar , portal1= Catholicism , portal2= Christianity , portal3= Vatican City , b=y, b-search=Biblical Studies/Christianity/Roman Catholicism/History , commons=y, commons-search=Papal conclave , n=y, n-search=Roman Catholic Church , q=y, q-search=Popes , s=y, s-search=Popes , v=y, v-search=Christian History , wikt=y, wikt-search=Pope , d=y 12th-century elections 1145 1145 in Europe 12th-century Catholicism 12th century in the Papal States