Editing Pope Pelagius II (section)

==Life==
Pelagius was a native of [[Rome]], but probably of [[Ostrogoths|Ostrogothic]] descent, as his father's name was Winigild. Pelagius became Pope Benedict I's successor on November 26, 579, without imperial confirmation.<ref>[https://www.britannica.com/biography/Pelagius-II. Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. "Pelagius II". ''Encyclopedia Britannica'']</ref>

Pelagius appealed for help from [[Emperor Maurice]] against the [[Lombards]], but to no avail, forcing Pelagius to "buy" a truce and turn to the [[Franks]], who invaded Italy, but left after being bribed by the Lombards.<ref name="ce"/>

Pelagius labored to promote [[clerical celibacy]], and he issued stringent regulations on this matter.<ref name="ce"/> During his pontificate, the bishop of [[Milan]], who had broken [[Communion (Christian)|communion]] with Rome in the [[Schism of the Three Chapters]], returned to full communion around 581, while other bishops in Northern Italy remained in schism.<ref name="ce"/>

Pelagius ordered the construction of the [[Basilica di San Lorenzo fuori le Mura]], a [[Church (building)|church]] [[shrine]] over the place where [[Saint Lawrence]] was [[martyr]]ed. During his reign, the [[Visigoth]]s of [[Spain]] converted, but he also faced conflict with the See of [[Constantinople]] over the adoption of the title of "Ecumenical Patriarch," which Pelagius believed to undermine the authority of the papacy.<ref name="ce"/><ref>Duffy, Eamon. ''Saints and Sinners: A History of the Popes'', Yale University Press, 2001. pp 62–63. {{ISBN|0-300-09165-6}}.</ref><ref>Maxwell-Stuart, P. G. ''Chronicle of the Popes: The Reign-by-Reign Record of the Papacy from St. Peter to the Present'', Thames & Hudson, 2002, p.&nbsp;47. {{ISBN|0-500-01798-0}}.</ref>

Pelagius fell victim to the plague that devastated Rome at the end of 590. His successor, [[Pope Gregory I|Gregory I]], thought his regulations of clerical celibacy too strict, and modified them to some extent.<ref name="ce"/>