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Pope Pelagius II
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Pelagius II | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Birth name | Pelagius |
| Papacy began | 579 |
| Papacy ended | 590 |
| Predecessor | Benedict I |
| Successor | Gregory I |
| Born | ??? Rome, Italy |
| Died | 590 Rome, Italy |
| Other popes named Pelagius | |
Pope Pelagius II was pope from 579 to 590.
He was seemingly a native of Rome, but he was of Gothic descent, as his father's name was Winigild.
The most important acts of Pelagius relate to the Lombards, or to the Schism of the Three Chapters. Pelagius appealed for help from Emperor Maurice against the Lombards, but the Byzantines were of little help, forcing Pelagius to initiate the practice of "buying" a truce. The pope therefore turned to the Franks, who invaded Italy, but left after being bribed by the Lombards.
Pelagius labored to promote the celibacy of the clergy, and he issued such stringent regulations on this matter that his successor Pope Gregory I thought them too strict, and modified them to some extent.
He ordered the construction of the Basilica di San Lorenzo fuori le Mura, a church shrine over the place where Saint Lawrence was martyred. During his reign, the Visigoths of Spain converted, but he also faced conflit with the See of Constantinople over the adoption of the title of "Ecumenical Patriarch," which Pelagius believed to undermine the authority of the papacy.
Pelagius fell victim to the plague that devastated Rome at the end of 589.
"Pope Pelagius II" in the 1913 Catholic Encyclopedia.- Duff, Eamon. Saints and Sinners: A History of the Popes, Yale University Press, 2001. pp 62–63. ISBN 0300091656
- 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. 47. ISBN 0500017980.
| Catholic Church titles | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Benedict I |
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 579–590 |
Succeeded by Gregory I |