Editing Pope Celestine II

{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2021}}
{{Short description|Head of the Catholic Church from 1143 to 1144}}
{{For|the pope-elect who took the name "Celestine II" but was never consecrated|Pope-elect Celestine II}}
{{Infobox Christian leader
|type=Pope
|honorific-prefix=[[List of popes|Pope]]
|name=Celestine II
|image= Pope Celestine, St William and an unidentified Prelate, East Window, York Minster.jpg
|caption=Celestine II (center) with [[William of York|Saint William of York]] (right) and an unknown English bishop (left)
|title= [[Bishop of Rome]]
|church= [[Catholic Church]]
|signature=Celestinustitel.jpg{{!}}class=skin-invert
|birth_name=Guido di Castello
|term_start=26 September 1143
|term_end=8 March 1144
|predecessor=[[Innocent II]]
|successor=[[Lucius II]]
|consecration=3 October 1143
|consecrated_by=[[Alberic of Ostia]]
|cardinal=December 1127
|created_cardinal_by=[[Honorius II]]
|birth_date=
|birth_place=[[Città di Castello]], [[Papal States]], [[Holy Roman Empire]]
|death_date=8 March 1144
|death_place=[[Rome]], [[Papal States]], [[Holy Roman Empire]]
|other=Celestine}}

'''Pope Celestine II''' ({{langx|la|Caelestinus II}}; died 8 March 1144), born '''Guido di Castello''',<ref name="Thomas, pg. 91">Thomas, pg. 91</ref> was head of the [[Catholic Church]] and ruler of the [[Papal States]] from 26 September 1143<ref>*{{cite web|authorlink=Salvador Miranda (historian) |last=Miranda |first=Salvador |title= CASTELLO, Guido di (?-1144)|url=https://cardinals.fiu.edu/bios1127.htm#Castello|work=The Cardinals of the Holy Roman Church |accessdate=|publisher=[[Florida International University]]|oclc=53276621}}</ref> to his death on 8 March 1144.

==Early life==
Guido di Castello, possibly the son of a local noble, Niccolo di Castello,<ref name="Mann, pg. 105">Mann, pg. 105</ref> was born either in [[Città di Castello]], situated in Paterna Santa Felicità upon the [[Apennines]], or at [[Macerata]] in the [[March of Ancona]].<ref name="Mann, pg. 105">Mann, pg. 105</ref><ref>According to Mann (pg. 104), there is a local tradition that Celestine II, when he became pope, presented the cathedral in Città di Castello with a sculptured silver altar-front.</ref>

Guido had studied under [[Pierre Abélard]], and eventually became a distinguished master in the schools.<ref name="Mann, pg. 105">Mann, pg. 105</ref> Eventually Guido began his career in [[Rome]] as a [[subdeacon]] and a ''scriptor apostolicus'' under [[Pope Callixtus II]].<ref name="Mann, pg. 105">Mann, pg. 105</ref> He was created [[Cardinal-Deacon]] of [[Santa Maria in Via Lata]] by [[Pope Honorius II]] in 1127;<ref name="Mann, pg. 106">Mann, pg. 106</ref> as such, he signed the papal bulls issued between 3 April 1130 and 21 December 1133.<ref>J.M.Brixius, ''Die Mitglieder des Kardinalkollegiums von 1130–1181'', Berlin, 1912, p. 35 no. 19</ref> In the double [[papal election, 1130|papal election of 1130]] he joined the obedience of [[Pope Innocent II]]. In December 1133 Innocent promoted him to the rank of [[Cardinal-Priest]] of [[San Marco, Rome|San Marco]].<ref name="Mann, pg. 106">Mann, pg. 106</ref> He signed the papal bulls as ''S.R.E. indignus sacerdos'' between 11 January 1134 and 16 May 1143.<ref>J.M.Brixius, ''Die Mitglieder des Kardinalkollegiums von 1130–1181'', Berlin, 1912, p. 35 no. 19 and p. 43 no. 23, indicates that Guido del Castello and ''Guido S.R.E. indignus sacerdos'' were two different persons; but see L. Spätling, ''Kardinal Guido und seine Legation in Böhmen-Mähren (1142–1146)'' in: ''[[Mitteilungen des Instituts für österreichische Geschichtsforschung]]'', Wagner'sche Universitäts-buchhandlung, 1958, p. 310</ref> As the cardinal of San Marco's, he supported Innocent's claims with regards to [[Monte Cassino]], and as a mark of his confidence in him, Innocent made Guido the [[Rector (ecclesiastical)|rector]] of [[Benevento]]. Afterwards, he made him a [[papal legate]] to [[France]] in 1140.<ref name="Thomas, pg. 91">Thomas, pg. 91</ref>

He participated in the [[papal election, 1143|papal election of 1143]], the first undisturbed papal election that Rome had seen for eighty-two years,<ref name="Mann, pg. 103">Mann, pg. 103</ref> and was elected pope two days after the death of Innocent II,<ref name="Mann, pg. 102">Mann, pg. 102</ref> on 25 September 1143,<ref name="Thomas, pg. 91">Thomas, pg. 91</ref> taking the name of Celestine.<ref name="Mann, pg. 103">Mann, pg. 103</ref>

==Papacy==
Celestine II governed the [[Catholic Church]] for only five months and thirteen days from his election until his death on 8 March 1144. Upon his accession he wrote to [[Peter the Venerable]] and the monks of [[Cluny]], asking them to pray for him, while he was congratulated by [[Arnulf of Lisieux]].<ref>Mann, pgs. 106–107</ref> Regardless of the brevity of his reign, he was prepared to chart a very different course from that of his predecessor. He was opposed to Innocent II's concessions to King [[Roger II of Sicily]]<ref name="Mann, pg. 108">Mann, pg. 108</ref> and refused to ratify the [[Treaty of Mignano]] ("a foolish policy, which he survived – just – long enough to regret"<ref>{{Cite book|title=The Popes: A History|last=NORWICH|first=JOHN JU|date=2012|publisher=Vintage|isbn=9780099565871|location=London|language=English}}</ref>). He was in favor of the [[Plantagenet]]s' claim to the English throne, and was therefore opposed to King [[Stephen of England]]. To emphasise this shift, he refused to renew the legatine authority that Innocent II had granted to King Stephen's brother, [[Henry of Blois]].<ref name="Mann, pg. 108">Mann, pg. 108</ref> Celestine also favored the [[Templars]], ordering a general collection for them, as well as the [[Knights Hospitaller|Hospitallers]], giving them control of the hospital of Saint Mary Teutonicorum in [[Jerusalem]].<ref name="Mann, pg. 111">Mann, pg. 111</ref>
[[File:Caelestinus II. podoba.jpg|thumb|19th-century religious card depicting Celestine's absolution of [[Louis VII of France|King Louis VII of France]].]]
The principal act of his [[papacy]] was the absolution of [[Louis VII of France]].<ref name="Mann, pg. 108">Mann, pg. 108</ref> King Louis had refused to accept the nomination of [[Pierre de la Chatre]] as the [[archbishop of Bourges]], who went to see Innocent II to have his nomination confirmed.<ref name="Mann, pg. 109">Mann, pg. 109</ref> When Pierre returned to [[France]] in 1142, Louis refused him permission to enter his episcopal city, causing Pierre to flee to the court of Count [[Theobald II of Champagne]]. Innocent responded by placing France under an [[interdict]].<ref name="Mann, pg. 109">Mann, pg. 109</ref> For two years, the various parties remained at loggerheads while [[Bernard of Clairvaux]] attempted to mediate the dispute.<ref>Mann, pgs. 109–110</ref> With the election of Celestine, both Bernard and Theobald appealed to the pope, while Louis sent ambassadors to have the interdict lifted.<ref>Mann, pgs. 110–111</ref> Louis agreed to accept Pierre as the legitimate archbishop of Bourges, and in return, Celestine removed the sentence of interdict.<ref name="Mann, pg. 111">Mann, pg. 111</ref>

Celestine died on 8 March 1144<ref name="Thomas, pg. 91">Thomas, pg. 91</ref> in the monastery of Saint Sebastian on the [[Palatine]] hill and was buried in the south transept of the [[Lateran]].<ref name="Mann, pg. 111">Mann, pg. 111</ref> Celestine's [[heraldic badge]] was a [[Lozenge (heraldry)|lozengy]] shield of argent and gules.<ref name="Mann, pg. 102"/>

Celestine II is the first pope listed in the [[Prophecies of St Malachy]].

==See also==
{{Portal|Biography|Christianity|History}}
*[[List of popes]]
*[[Cardinals created by Celestine II]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Sources==
{{EB1911 poster|Celestine (popes)}}
* Thomas, P. C., ''A Compact History of the Popes'', St Pauls BYB, 2007
* Mann, Horace K., ''The Lives of the Popes in the Middle Ages, Vol 9'' (1925)

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{{s-bef|before=[[Innocent II]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Pope]]|years=1143–44}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Lucius II]]}}
{{s-end}}

{{Popes}}
{{Catholicism}} 
{{History of the Catholic Church}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Celestine 02}}
[[Category:Pope Celestine II| ]]
[[Category:1144 deaths]]
[[Category:Italian popes]]
[[Category:People from Città di Castello]]
[[Category:Popes]]
[[Category:Year of birth unknown]]
[[Category:12th-century popes]]
[[Category:Burials at the Archbasilica of Saint John Lateran]]