Editing Pope Honorius III (section)

==Early work==
He was born in [[Rome]] as a son of Aimerico,<ref>St. Antoninus of Florence, ''Chronica'', in Augustinus Theiner (editor), ''Caesaris S. R. E. Cardinalis Baronii, Od. Raynaldi et Jac. Laderchii Annales Ecclesiastici Tomus Vigesimus 1198-1228'' (Barri-Ducis: Ludovicus Guerin 1870), under the year 1216, no. 17, p. 355.</ref> a member of the Roman [[Savelli family]].<ref>Recent revisionist argumentation has suggested that he might not have been a Savelli. The argument is based on the undeniable fact that there is no contemporary document that calls him Cencio Savelli. However, surnames were not in common use in the 12th and 13th century. The first use of the name Savelli is in connection with the father of Honorius IV, Luca Savelli. See Renato Lefevre, "Un papa Savelli (Onorio III) che non fu Savelli," ''Strenna dei Romanisti'' 52 (1991) 283–290; and Gualtiero Sirtoli, "Onorio III: il permanere di un dubbio sulla sua appartenenza al lignaggio Savelli," ''Frate Francesco'' 71 (2005), 415-431. But there is no certain proof that Honorius III did ''not'' belong to the Savelli family.</ref>

For a time [[canon (priest)|canon]] at the church of Santa Maria Maggiore,<ref name="Catholic"/> he later became [[Camerlengo of the Holy Roman Church]] on December 5, 1189<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Cardinals of the Holy Roman Church - Biographical Dictionary - Consistory of 1193 |url=https://cardinals.fiu.edu/bios1193.htm#Cencio |access-date=2022-04-21 |website=cardinals.fiu.edu}}</ref> and [[Cardinal Deacon]] of Santa Lucia in Silice on 20 February 1193. Under [[Pope Clement III]] and [[Pope Celestine III]] he was treasurer of the Roman Church, compiling the ''[[Liber Censuum]]'', and served as acting [[Vice-Chancellor of the Holy Roman Church]] from 1194 until 1198.

In 1197 he became the tutor to the Sicilian king [[Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor|Frederick]], future emperor, who had been given as ward to [[Pope Innocent III]] by his mother, [[Constance I of Sicily|Constance]].{{sfn|Collins|2009|p=260}}

Innocent III raised him to the rank of a [[cardinal priest]] in 1200,<ref>The date is an inference. His latest signature as a cardinal deacon was on April 13, 1200. His first signature on a document as cardinal priest occurs on November 23, 1201. See [[Augustus Potthast]], {{lang|la|Regesta pontificum Romanorum}} I (Berlin 1874), p. 466. Conradus Eubel, ''Hierarchia catholica medii aevi'' I editio altera (Monasterii 1913), p. 3 n. 1.</ref> by which he obtained the ''Titulus'' of ''[[Santi Giovanni e Paolo (Rome)|Ss. Ioannis et Pauli]]''. He was dismissed as Camerlengo of the Holy Roman Church in 1198, but about the same time he assumed the post of [[Camerlengo of the Sacred College of Cardinals]], post which he held until 1216.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Cardinals of the Holy Roman Church - Biographical Dictionary - Consistory of 1193 |url=https://cardinals.fiu.edu/bios1193.htm#Cencio |access-date=2022-04-21 |website=cardinals.fiu.edu}}</ref>