Pope Celestine IV

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Gregory IX
Personal details
Born
Goffredo da Castiglione
Goffredo Castiglioni

c. 1180/1187
Died(1241-11-10)10 November 1241
Rome, Papal States
Previous post(s)
  • Cardinal-Priest of San Marco
    (1227–1239)
  • Cardinal-Bishop of Sabina
    (1239–1241)
Coat of armsCelestine IV's coat of arms
Other popes named Celestine

Pope Celestine IV (

Latin: Caelestinus IV; c. 1180/1187[1] − 10 November 1241), born Goffredo da Castiglione, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States
for only a few days from 25 October 1241 to his death on 10 November 1241.

History

Born in

The

Tivoli two cardinals whom he had captured at sea, and in Rome Cardinal Giovanni Colonna was his ally, largely because the curia was in the hands of the archenemy of the Colonna family, the senator Matteo Rosso Orsini. The latter held the consistory captive under the control of his guards in the ramshackle palace of the Septizodium,[7] where rain leaked through the roof of their chamber, mingled with the urine of Orsini's guards on the rooftiles.[8] One of the cardinals, the Englishman Robert of Somercotes, fell ill and died.[9]

One group of cardinals, which included Sinibaldo de' Fieschi (soon to be Pope Innocent IV) supported a candidate from the inner circle of Pope Gregory IX, who could be expected to pursue a hard line with Frederick II. Another group advocated a moderate middle course, not as allies of the Hohenstaufen, but desirous to achieve an end to the war in Italy. Overtures to Frederick II, however, were met with the impossible demand that if they wished the cardinals in his hands to return to Rome, they must elect as pope Otto of St. Nicholas, an amenable compromise figure. Matteo Rosso Orsini's candidate, Romano da Porto, who had persecuted scholars at the University of Paris, was considered unacceptable.

Only on 25 October 1241 was the cardinal bishop of Sabina finally elected by the required two-thirds majority, seven cardinals out of ten. He took the name Pope Celestine IV but occupied the throne for only seventeen days. It is said that this was nevertheless long enough for him to proceed, as his only significant act, with the excommunication of

St Peter's
.

See also

Notes

  1. ^ "Pope Celestine IV - PopeHistory.com". January 27, 2017.
  2. ^ "genealogie-mittelalter.de". www.genealogie-mittelalter.de. Archived from the original on October 23, 2005.
  3. ^ Miranda, Salvador. "The Cardinals of the Holy Roman Church: Consistories for the creation of Cardinals - 13th Century (1198-1303)". Florida International University. Archived from the original on 9 June 2012.
  4. ^ San Marco was a diocese in southern Italy established in 1170."Curia vescovile di San Marco Argentano - Scalea". Sistema Informativo Unificato per le Soprintendenze Archivistiche. Archived from the original on 13 May 2014.
  5. ^ Lex. der Mittelalters.
  6. ^ Bagliani 1972, p. ?
  7. ^ Matthew of Paris, Chronica Majora Volume IV (ed. H. Luard), p. 169: in palatio quod Regia Solis dicitur....
  8. ^ Abulafia 1988, p. 350
  9. .
  10. ^ Abulafia 1988, p. 352.
  11. ^ Cf. Francesco Antonio Vitale, Storia diplomatica de' senatori di Roma I (Roma 1791), 108-110; Luigi Pompili Olivieri, Il senato romano I (Roma 1886), pp. 193-194.

Sources

External links

Catholic Church titles
Preceded by
Gregory IX
Pope
1241
Succeeded by
Innocent IV