The Popes

A Brief Synopsis (from Peter to Francis)

Uriel R. Limjoco

• Editorial: Covenant Books, Inc.
• Año: 2021
• ISBN:
  9781636307435
• Categoría: Theology & Religion
• Categoría: Christian Denominations

This brief synopsis aims to summarize the influence of the highest leadership on the growth and development of the Catholic Church and to encourage the reader to study the lives of the popes in a more detailed manner. Christ entrusted the chair of St. Peter to mortals, and as mortals, they are subject to the same temptations that surround us all. Some of them resisted temptation better than others. Some succumbed to temptations worse than others. May God bless the papacy, the Church, and the whole world.

End of Saeculum Obscurum

Popes of the Investiture Controversy

Pope Alexander II (1061–1073)

Born Anselmo of Baggio, Alexander II was the first pope elected by the cardinals alone without interference from the Roman nobility or imperial influence. Anselm was one of the four “upright and honest” priests suggested to succeed Ariberto de Intimiano as prince bishop of Milan before he was elected pope. Pope Alexander II is credited with the first attempt to organize an international army to liberate the Spanish city of Barbastro (Crusade of Barbastro) from the moors. He suppressed the “alleluia” during Lent.

Pope St. Gregory VII (1073–1085)

Born Hildebrand of Sovana, Pope Gregory VII is best known for the part he played in the Investiture Controversy. This conflict between Church and state began as a power struggle between the pope and Holy Roman Emperor Henry IV in 1076. The conflict ended when Pope Callixtus II (1119–1124) and Emperor Henry V (1111–1125) agreed in 1122 at the Concordat of Worms. Gregory had the support of a powerful woman at that time, Margravine Mathilda of Tuscany. Gregory VII was the first pope in several centuries to vigorously enforce celibacy for the clergy and also attacked simony. He was also one of the few popes elected by acclamation of the cardinals and the laity of Rome. Gregory VII was seen by Pope Paul VI (1963–1978) as instrumental in affirming the tenet that Christ is present in the Blessed Sacrament. He was also the first pope to wear red shoes.

Pope Victor III (1086–1087)

Pope Victor II was the former Desiderius, great abbot of Monte Cassino. He reluctantly accepted his election to the papacy because of failing health. His entire papacy was troubled by the presence of Antipope Clement III, making him spend much of his time at Monte Cassino, where he became seriously ill and died.

Pope Urban II (1088–1099)

Born Odo of Lagery, Pope Urban II is best known for starting the first (1096–1099) of eventually nine crusades (1096–1272) to take back the Holy Land from the Muslims. Before he became pope, he was abbot of Cluny and bishop of Ostia. As pope, he received a plea from the Byzantine Emperor Alexios I Komnenos, asking for help against the Muslim Seljuk Turks who had taken over most of Byzantine Anatolia (modern Turkey). Urban then made a rallying speech known as “Deus vult” or “God wills it” and organized a Christian army to start what will be known as the First Crusade. Urban II died on July 1099 several days before news of the fall of Jerusalem to the Crusades reached Italy.

Pope Paschal II (1099–1118)

Ranierus was abbot of the Abbacy at Cluny before he was elected. During his papacy, some effort was made by the Byzantine Emperor Alexios to bridge the schism between the Orthodox and Catholic Church, but these failed mainly because Paschal II insisted that the patriarch of Constantinople be subject to the pope. Paschal II confirmed as a religious order the Hospital of St. John of Jerusalem, later known as the Knights Hospitaller and today known as the Sovereign Military Order of Malta.

Pope Gelasius II (1118–1119)

Giovanni Caetani da Gaeta was a monk at Monte Cassino before he was unanimously elected to succeed Pope Paschal II. Because of the ongoing Investiture Controversy (1076–1122), the pope spent much of his papacy in exile. He was planning to hold a general synod to settle the controversy at the Abbey of Cluny, but he died before it can be started.

Pope Callixtus II (1119–1124)

Born Guy of Burgundy, Callixtus was the son of Count William I of Burgundy. Noting that there were five thousand Jews slaughtered in Europe during the crusade, Pope Callixtus issued the papal bull, Sicut Judaeis, protecting the Jews and entitling them to enjoy their lawful liberty. It forbade Christians, on pain of excommunication, to force Jews to convert or disturb the celebration of their festivities. He also concluded the Concordat of Worms with Roman Emperor Henry V granting freedom of election to episcopal sees. He convened the First Lateran Council, which passed several decrees including discipline against simony and concubinage among the clergy. Pope Callixtus II was a great proponent of the pilgrimage from France to Santiago de Compostela in Spain, today known as “the Way.” It is believed that he authored the Codex Calixtinus, a medieval traveling guide for pilgrims following the “Way of St. James.”

Pope Honorius II (1124–1130)

Born Lamberto Scannabecchi, of humble origins, his obvious intellect and outstanding abilities saw him go up the ecclesiastical ladder. He was the first pope to confirm the election of the Holy Roman Emperor. In 1124, there were two great families dominating local politics in Rome, the Frangipani family supporting the northern cardinals and the Pierleoni family supporting the southern (Italian) cardinals. On December 16, a blood...