Pope Innocent II ( la, Innocentius II; died 24 September 1143), born Gregorio Papareschi, was 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 14 February 1130 to his death in 1143. 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 ...
as
pope
The pope ( la, papa, from el, πάππας, translit=pappas, 'father'), also known as supreme pontiff ( or ), Roman pontiff () or sovereign pontiff, is the bishop of Rome (or historically the patriarch of Rome), head of the worldwide Cathol ...
was controversial and the first eight years of his reign were marked by a struggle for recognition against the supporters of
Anacletus II. He reached an understanding with King
Lothair III of Germany
Lothair III, sometimes numbered Lothair II and also known as Lothair of Supplinburg (1075 – 4 December 1137), was Holy Roman Emperor from 1133 until his death. He was appointed Duke of Saxony in 1106 and elected King of Germany in 1125 before ...
who supported him against Anacletus and whom he crowned as
Holy Roman emperor
The Holy Roman Emperor, originally and officially the Emperor of the Romans ( la, Imperator Romanorum, german: Kaiser der Römer) during the Middle Ages, and also known as the Roman-German Emperor since the early modern period ( la, Imperat ...
. Innocent went on to preside over the
Second Lateran council
The Second Council of the Lateran was the tenth ecumenical council recognized by the Catholic Church. It was convened by Pope Innocent II in April 1139 and attended by close to a thousand clerics. Its immediate task was to neutralise the after-e ...
.
Early years
Gregorio Papareschi came from a Roman family, probably of the ''rione''
Trastevere. Formerly a Cluniac monk, he was made
cardinal deacon of San Angelo in 1116 by
Pope Paschal II. Gregorio was selected by
Pope Callixtus II for various important and difficult missions, such as the one to
Worms for the conclusion of the
Concordat of Worms, the peace accord made with
Holy Roman Emperor
The Holy Roman Emperor, originally and officially the Emperor of the Romans ( la, Imperator Romanorum, german: Kaiser der Römer) during the Middle Ages, and also known as the Roman-German Emperor since the early modern period ( la, Imperat ...
Henry V Henry V may refer to:
People
* Henry V, Duke of Bavaria (died 1026)
* Henry V, Holy Roman Emperor (1081/86–1125)
* Henry V, Duke of Carinthia (died 1161)
* Henry V, Count Palatine of the Rhine (c. 1173–1227)
* Henry V, Count of Luxembourg (121 ...
in 1122, and also the one that made peace with King
Louis VI of France in 1123. In 1124, he became a close advisor to
Pope Honorius II.
Election as Pope
On the evening of 13 February 1130,
Pope Honorius II died, Gregorio was hastily elected as Pope Innocent II by a commission of six cardinals led by papal chancellor Haimeric. He was consecrated on 14 February, the day after Honorius' death. The other cardinals announced that Innocent had not been canonically elected and chose
Anacletus II, a Roman whose family were the enemy of Haimeric's supporters, the Frangipani. Anacletus' mixed group of supporters were powerful enough to take control of Rome while Innocent was forced to flee north.
Papacy
Anacletus had control of Rome, so Innocent II took ship for
Pisa, and thence sailed by way of
Genoa
Genoa ( ; it, Genova ; lij, Zêna ). is the capital of the Italian region of Liguria and the sixth-largest city in Italy. In 2015, 594,733 people lived within the city's administrative limits. As of the 2011 Italian census, the Province of ...
to France, where the influence of
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 t ...
readily secured his cordial recognition by the clergy and the court. In October of 1130, he was duly acknowledged by King
Lothair III of Germany
Lothair III, sometimes numbered Lothair II and also known as Lothair of Supplinburg (1075 – 4 December 1137), was Holy Roman Emperor from 1133 until his death. He was appointed Duke of Saxony in 1106 and elected King of Germany in 1125 before ...
and his bishops at the synod of
Würzburg. In January 1131, he had also a favourable interview with
Henry I of England
Henry I (c. 1068 – 1 December 1135), also known as Henry Beauclerc, was King of England from 1100 to his death in 1135. He was the fourth son of William the Conqueror and was educated in Latin and the liberal arts. On William's death in ...
at Chartres, and in August 1132 Lothar III undertook an expedition to Italy for the double purpose of setting aside Anacletus as
antipope
An antipope ( la, antipapa) is a person who makes a significant and substantial attempt to occupy the position of Bishop of Rome and leader of the Catholic Church in opposition to the legitimately elected pope. At times between the 3rd and mi ...
and of being crowned by Innocent. Anacletus and his supporters being in secure control of
St. Peter's Basilica, the coronation ultimately took place in the
Lateran Basilica
The Archbasilica Cathedral of the Most Holy Savior and of Saints John the Baptist and John the Evangelist in the Lateran ( it, Arcibasilica del Santissimo Salvatore e dei Santi Giovanni Battista ed Evangelista in Laterano), also known as the Papa ...
(4 June 1133), but otherwise the expedition proved abortive. Innocent II invested Lothair as emperor and the territories belonging to
Matilda of Tuscany in return for an annuity of 100 pounds of silver paid to the pope.
After Lothar's hasty departure from Rome, Innocent fled to Pisa. In May 1135, Innocent convened the
council of Pisa, which was attended by over one hundred clerics and abbots. Innocent II had the council declare
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 ...
and his supporters excommunicated.
The second expedition by Lothar III in 1136 was no more decisive in its results, and the protracted struggle between the rival pontiffs was terminated only by the death of Anacletus II on 25 January 1138.
In March 1139, in the ''
Omne Datum Optimum'', Innocent II declared that the
Knights Templar
, colors = White mantle with a red cross
, colors_label = Attire
, march =
, mascot = Two knights riding a single horse
, equipment ...
—a religious and military organization then twenty-one years old—should in the future be answerable only to the papacy.
Second Lateran Council
At the
Second Lateran council
The Second Council of the Lateran was the tenth ecumenical council recognized by the Catholic Church. It was convened by Pope Innocent II in April 1139 and attended by close to a thousand clerics. Its immediate task was to neutralise the after-e ...
of April 1139, King
Roger II of Sicily
Roger II ( it, Ruggero II; 22 December 1095 – 26 February 1154) was King of Sicily and Africa, son of Roger I of Sicily and successor to his brother Simon. He began his rule as Count of Sicily in 1105, became Duke of Apulia and Calabria i ...
, Innocent II's most uncompromising foe, was
excommunicated
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 ...
. Can. 29 of the
Second Lateran Council
The Second Council of the Lateran was the tenth ecumenical council recognized by the Catholic Church. It was convened by Pope Innocent II in April 1139 and attended by close to a thousand clerics. Its immediate task was to neutralise the after-e ...
under Pope Innocent II in 1139 banned the use of crossbows, as well as slings and bows, against Christians.
Treaty of Mignano
On 22 July 1139, at
Galluccio
Galluccio is a '' comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Caserta in the Italian region Campania, located about northwest of Naples and about northwest of Caserta. It is at the feet of the southern slopes of Monte Camino.
History
Prehistori ...
, Roger II's son
Roger III of Apulia ambushed the papal troops with a thousand knights and captured Innocent. On 25 July 1139, Innocent was forced to acknowledge the kingship and possessions of Roger with the
Treaty of Mignano
The Treaty of Mignano of 1139 was the treaty which ended more than a decade of constant war in the Italian Mezzogiorno following the union of the mainland duchy of Apulia and Calabria with the County of Sicily in 1127.
In 1130, Antipope Anacletus ...
. Innocent II died on 24 September 1143 and was succeeded by
Pope Celestine II.
Legacy
In 1134, Innocent elevated as
cardinal-nephew his nephew,
Gregorio Papareschi
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 Papal conclave, election as pope was controve ...
. He did the same for his brother
Pietro Papareschi, whom he made cardinal in 1142. Another nephew, Cinthio Capellus (died 1182), was also a cardinal, raised to the cardinalate in 1158, after Innocent's death.
Aside from the complete rebuilding of the ancient church of
Santa Maria in Trastevere, which boldly features Ionic capitals from former colonnades in the
Baths of Caracalla
, alternate_name = it, Terme di Caracalla
, image = File:Baths of Caracalla, facing Caldarium.jpg
, caption = The baths as viewed from the south-west. The caldarium would have been in the front of the image
, coordinates = ...
and other richly detailed ''spolia'' from Roman monuments, the remaining years of Innocent's life were almost as barren of permanent political results as the first had been. In the Lateran palace, he had a portrait painted depicting Lothar's oath to preserve the privileges of the city of Rome. Innocent's efforts to undo the mischief wrought in Rome by the long schism were almost entirely neutralized by a quarrel with his erstwhile supporter,
Louis VII of France
Louis VII (1120 – 18 September 1180), called the Younger, or the Young (french: link=no, le Jeune), was King of the Franks from 1137 to 1180. He was the son and successor of King Louis VI (hence the epithet "the Young") and married Duchess ...
over the candidate for
archbishop of Bourges, in the course of which that kingdom was laid under an
interdict to press for the papal candidate, and by a struggle with the town of
Tivoli
Tivoli may refer to:
* Tivoli, Lazio, a town in Lazio, Italy, known for historic sites; the inspiration for other places named Tivoli
Buildings
* Tivoli (Baltimore, Maryland), a mansion built about 1855
* Tivoli Building (Cheyenne, Wyoming), ...
in which he became involved. As a result, Roman factions that wished Tivoli annihilated took up arms against Innocent.
In 1143, as the pope lay dying, the
Commune of Rome, to resist papal power, began deliberations that officially reinstated the
Roman Senate
The Roman Senate ( la, Senātus Rōmānus) was a governing and advisory assembly in ancient Rome. It was one of the most enduring institutions in Roman history, being established in the first days of the city of Rome (traditionally founded in ...
the following year. The pope was interred in a
porphyry sarcophagus that contemporary tradition asserted had been the Emperor
Hadrian
Hadrian (; la, Caesar Trâiānus Hadriānus ; 24 January 76 – 10 July 138) was Roman emperor from 117 to 138. He was born in Italica (close to modern Santiponce in Spain), a Roman ''municipium'' founded by Italic settlers in Hispania ...
's.
See also
*
Bull of Gniezno
''Ex commisso nobis'', more commonly known as the ''Bull of Gniezno'', was a papal bull issued on July 7, 1136 by Pope Innocent II. The bull split off the Bishopric of Gniezno from the Archbishop of Magdeburg. From a historical perspective, t ...
*
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 Innocent II
References
Bibliography
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Further reading
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Innocent 02
1143 deaths
Clergy from Rome
Italian popes
12th-century Italian cardinals
Burials at Santa Maria in Trastevere
Year of birth unknown
Popes
12th-century popes
House of Papareschi
Cardinals created by Pope Urban II