__NOTOC__ Conrad of Urach (also named Conrad von Urach, german: Konrad von Urach, also known as Konrad or Kuno von Zähringen) (born in the 1170s; died 29 September 1227, probably in Bari) was a Cistercian monk and abbot, and Cardinal Bishop of Porto and Santa Rufina; he declined the papacy.Michael Ott (1908). "

Conrad of Urach __NOTOC__ Conrad of Urach (also named Conrad von Urach, german: Konrad von Urach, also known as Konrad or Kuno von Zähringen) (born in the 1170s; died 29 September 1227, probably in Bari) was a Cistercian monk and abbot, and Cardinal Bishop of P ...

". In ''Catholic Encyclopedia''. 4. New York: Robert Appleton Company.

Infancy

Conrad was the second son of Count Egino IV of Urach and his wife Agnes, sister of Berthold V of Zähringen, in the early generations of the line of

Dukes of Württemberg Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they are ranke ...

. His early education was entrusted to his great-uncle

Rudolf of Zähringen Rudolf of Zähringen (also ''Rudolph'', ''Ralph'' or ''Raoul'') (c. 1135 – 5 August 1191) was the archbishop of Mainz from 1160 to 1161 and prince-bishop of Liège. He was the son of Conrad I of Zähringen and Clemence of Luxembourg-Namur. ...

Bishop of Liège A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ...

. At an early age he became a

canon Canon or Canons may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Canon (fiction), the conceptual material accepted as official in a fictional universe by its fan base * Literary canon, an accepted body of works considered as high culture ** Western ca ...

of St. Lambert's Cathedral in Liège. His parents married in 1181, and so it is thought his birthdate was around 1185. This makes his ecclesiastical career, starting as an oblate, coherent with the normal career of a secular child, who would have entered into a squireship at around the same age he seems to have entered the Church in Liège, putatively around 1196.

Becoming a cleric

In 1199 however he entered the Cistercian monastery of Villers in Brabant, whose abbot was another uncle. He soon became prior, and in 1209

abbot Abbot is an ecclesiastical title given to the male head of a monastery in various Western religious traditions, including Christianity. The office may also be given as an honorary title to a clergyman who is not the head of a monastery. The ...

. In 1214 he was chosen abbot of Clairvaux, and, in 1217, abbot of Cîteaux and general of his order, in succession to

Arnaud Amaury Arnaud Amalric ( la, Arnoldus Amalricus; died 1225) was a Cistercian abbot who played a prominent role in the Albigensian Crusade. It is reported that prior to the massacre of Béziers, Amalric, when asked how to distinguish Cathars from Catho ...

, the first Legate of the Albigensian Crusade.

Missions as prelate

While he was 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 ...

on the business of the order,

Pope Honorius III Pope Honorius III (c. 1150 – 18 March 1227), born Cencio Savelli, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 18 July 1216 to his death. A canon at the Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore, he came to hold a number of impor ...

created him cardinal, on 8 January 1219, and later charged him as Papal legate with two important

mission Mission (from Latin ''missio'' "the act of sending out") may refer to: Organised activities Religion *Christian mission, an organized effort to spread Christianity *Mission (LDS Church), an administrative area of The Church of Jesus Christ of ...

s: one in France (1220–23), to suppress the

Albigenses Catharism (; from the grc, καθαροί, katharoi, "the pure ones") was a Christian dualist or Gnostic movement between the 12th and 14th centuries which thrived in Southern Europe, particularly in northern Italy and southern France. Follo ...

; the other in Germany (1224–26), to promote the crusade which Emperor Frederick II had vowed to undertake (the eventual Sixth Crusade). Conrad's success in both these missions was modest, but he was more successful in the improvement of ecclesiastical and monastic discipline through the arrangement of synods and the foundation of monasteries, as well as in the advancement of the Dominicans - their foundation-house in Toulouse (1214) was ideally placed as an anvil for his function as third Legate to the Albigensian crusade. During this period he also issued statutes to the medical faculty at the

University of Montpellier The University of Montpellier (french: Université de Montpellier) is a public research university located in Montpellier, in south-east of France. Established in 1220, the University of Montpellier is one of the oldest universities in the wor ...

(1220). While in Germany, Conrad was responsible for the declaration as a martyr of Engelbert II of Berg, Archbishop of Cologne, murdered on 7 November 1225. His pressure on the Holy Roman Emperor was aimed at containing Frederic II's increasing moslimisation as well as defending the interests of the Southern German nobility, of which he was a member.

Electing the pope

He returned to Rome in 1226, undertaking negotiations with the cities of the Lombard League. After the death of

Honorius III Pope Honorius III (c. 1150 – 18 March 1227), born Cencio Savelli, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 18 July 1216 to his death. A canon at the Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore, he came to hold a number of importa ...

on 18 March 1227 he was appointed a member of a triumvirate of cardinals chosen to select the new pope the next day, and as a matter of courtesy was offered the papacy, which he refused out of concern he would be accused of self-aggrandisement. He died at Bari later that year and was buried, according to his own wishes, in the abbey at Clairvaux. Cistercian records refer to him as Blessed (liturgical feast on 30 September) but there is little if any evidence of a cult.

Notes

Sources