by Deb McCoy | May 24, 2022 | Popes
Gregorio Papreschi became Pope Innocent III. He was a Roman from the section of Trestavere. And his family was friends with the notorious, two-faced Frangipani family. Born in 1082, he quickly moved up the ranks from a canon at the Lateran to an abbot to a cardinal...
by Deb McCoy | May 12, 2022 | Popes
Pope Honorius II was born as Lamberto Scannabecchi on 9 February 1060. His family was from a small commune in north central Italy, 19 miles from Bologna. His environment was a humble farming community. At a young age, Lamberto became the archdeacon of Bologna, an...
by Deb McCoy | May 5, 2022 | Popes
Pope Callixtus II was born Guy, or Guido, of Burgundy around 1065. Related to many royal families of western Europe, his father was the eminent Count William I of Burgundy. At a young age, in 1088, Guy became the archbishop of Vienne. The complicated lay investiture...
by Deb McCoy | Apr 30, 2022 | Popes
The antipope Gregory VIII was born Mauritius Burdinus, or, in French, Maurice Bourdin (later used as a play on words since bourdin means donkey). Born around 1065, Maurice lived in Limousin, Occitania, France. This was a semi-autonomous region which composes the...
by Deb McCoy | Apr 24, 2022 | Popes
Pope Gelasius II Probably no pope suffered as many indignities in as short a period of time as Pope Gelasius II. Born Giovanni (John) Caetani (of Gaeta), of noble parents, about 1060/64, the child showed much intelligence. He was sent to Monte Cassino, the famous...
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