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Pope Alexander IV
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Alexander IV | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Birth name | Rinaldo Conti |
| Papacy began | December 12, 1254 |
| Papacy ended | May 25, 1261 |
| Predecessor | Innocent IV |
| Successor | Urban IV |
| Born | c. 1199 Anagni, Italy |
| Died | May 25, 1261 Viterbo, Italy |
| Other popes named Alexander | |
Pope Alexander IV (c. 1199 – May 25, 1261), born Rinaldo of Jenne, was Pope from 1254 until his death,
A native of Jenne, near Anagni, he was, on his mother's side, a member of the family Conti, the counts of Segni, like Pope Innocent III (1198-1216) and Pope Gregory IX (1227-1241). His uncle Gregory IX made him Cardinal Deacon in 1227 and Bishop of Ostia in 1231. On the death of Pope Innocent IV (1243-1254) he was elected Pope at Naples on December 12, 1254.
Alexander IV is described as a stout man, kindly, cheerful, but of no great brilliancy. He succeeded Innocent IV as guardian of Conradin, the last of the Hohenstaufen, promising him his benevolent protection; but in less than a fortnight he conspired against him and bitterly opposed Conradin's uncle Manfred. Alexander IV fulminated with excommunication and interdict against the party of Manfred, but in vain; nor could he enlist the Kings of England and Norway in a crusade against the Hohenstaufen. Rome itself became too Ghibelline for the Pope, who withdrew to Viterbo, where he died in 1261. He was buried in Viterbo Cathedral, but his tomb was destroyed during sixteenth century renovations.
His pontificate was signalized by efforts to unite the Eastern Orthodox and Roman Catholic churches, by the establishment of the Inquisition in France, by favours shown to the mendicant orders, and by an attempt to organize a crusade against the Tatars after the second raid against Poland in 1259.
"Pope Alexander IV" in the 1913 Catholic Encyclopedia.- Richard, Jean (1999). The Crusades: c. 1071-c. 1291. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-62566-1.
- This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain.
| Catholic Church titles | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Innocent IV |
Bishop of Rome, Vicar of Peter (deprecated A.D. 495), Vicar of Christ, Successor of the Prince of the Apostles Supreme Pontiff (Pontifex Maximus) Patriarch of the West (deprecated 2006), Primate of Italy, Archbishop and Metropolitan of the Roman Province Servant of the Servants of God Pope 1254–1261 |
Succeeded by Urban IV |
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