Pope Adrian III or Hadrian III ( la, Adrianus or ''Hadrianus''; died July 885) was the

bishop of Rome A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop i ...

and ruler of the

Papal States The Papal States ( ; it, Stato Pontificio, ), officially the State of the Church ( it, Stato della Chiesa, ; la, Status Ecclesiasticus;), were a series of territories in the Italian Peninsula under the direct Sovereignty, sovereign rule of ...

from 17 May 884 to his death. He served for little more than a year, during which he worked to help the people of Italy in a very troubled time of famine and war.

Background

Adrian III was born in

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus ( legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

. According to

Jean Mabillon Dom Jean Mabillon, O.S.B., (; 23 November 1632 – 27 December 1707) was a French Benedictine monk and scholar of the Congregation of Saint Maur. He is considered the founder of the disciplines of palaeography and diplomatics. Early life Mabi ...

, his birth name was Agapitus. Reginald L. Poole believes that Mabillon confused Adrian III, who succeeded

Marinus I Pope Marinus I (; died 15 May 884) was the bishop of Rome and ruler of the Papal States from 882 until his death. Controversially at the time, he was already a bishop when he became pope, and had served as papal legate to Constantinople. He was ...

, with

Agapetus II Pope Agapetus II (died 8 November 955) was the bishop of Rome and ruler of the Papal States from 10 May 946 to his death. A nominee of the princeps of Rome, Alberic II of Spoleto, his pontificate occurred during the period known as the ''Saeculu ...

, who succeeded

Marinus II Pope Marinus II (died May 946) was the bishop of Rome and ruler of the Papal States from 30 October 942 to his death. He has also been mistakenly called Martinus III. He ruled during the '' Saeculum obscurum''. He was also erroneously called M ...

a century later.

Pontificate

Adrian laboured hard to alleviate the misery of the people of

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

, prey to famine and to continuous war. He is also known to have written a letter condemning the Christians of both Muslim-ruled and Christian-ruled parts of Spain for being too friendly with the Jews in these lands. Adrian died in July 885 at San Cesario sul Panaro (

Modena Modena (, , ; egl, label=Emilian language#Dialects, Modenese, Mòdna ; ett, Mutna; la, Mutina) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) on the south side of the Po Valley, in the Province of Modena in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern I ...

), not long after embarking on a trip to

Worms Worms may refer to: *Worm, an invertebrate animal with a tube-like body and no limbs Places *Worms, Germany, a city ** Worms (electoral district) * Worms, Nebraska, U.S. *Worms im Veltlintal, the German name for Bormio, Italy Arts and entertai ...

, in modern

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG),, is a country in Central Europe. It is the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany lies between the Baltic and North Sea to the north and the Alps to the sou ...

. The purpose of the journey was to attend an Imperial Diet after being summoned by Emperor

Charles the Fat Charles III (839 – 13 January 888), also known as Charles the Fat, was the emperor of the Carolingian Empire from 881 to 888. A member of the Carolingian dynasty, Charles was the youngest son of Louis the German and Hemma, and a great-grandso ...

to settle the imperial successionRichard P. McBrien, ''Lives of the Popes: The Pontiffs from St. Peter to John Paul II'', (HarperCollins, 2000), 143. and discuss the rising power of the

Saracens upright 1.5, Late 15th-century German woodcut depicting Saracens Saracen ( ) was a term used in the early centuries, both in Greek and Latin writings, to refer to the people who lived in and near what was designated by the Romans as Arabia Pe ...

. Adrian's death and subsequent burial in the church of San Silvestro

Nonantola Abbey Nonantola Abbey, dedicated to Saint Sylvester, is a former a Benedictine monastery and ''prelature nullius'' in the commune of Nonantola, c. 10 km north-east of Modena, in the Emilia Romagna region of Italy. The abbey church remains as a basi ...

near ModenaFrançois Bougard (2002), "Hadrian III", in Philippe Levillain, ed., ''The Papacy: An Encyclopedia'', vol. 2 (New York and London: Routledge), 682. is commemorated in the sculpted reliefs () that frame the doorway of this church. His relics are found near the high altar, and his tomb at once became a popular place of pilgrimage. His cult was confirmed by

Pope Leo XIII Pope Leo XIII ( it, Leone XIII; born Vincenzo Gioacchino Raffaele Luigi Pecci; 2 March 1810 – 20 July 1903) was the head of the Catholic Church from 20 February 1878 to his death in July 1903. Living until the age of 93, he was the second-old ...

on 2 June 1891, and his feast day is celebrated on 8 July.

References

External links

Opera Omnia Hadriani III by Migne, ''Patrologia Latina'', with analytical indexes
{{DEFAULTSORT:Adrian, Pope, Iii Adrian 03 Adrian 03 Adrian 03 Adrian 03 Adrian 03 9th-century Christian saints Burials at Nonantola Abbey Adrian 03 Year of birth unknown 9th-century popes Canonizations by Pope Leo XIII

Background

Pontificate

See also

References

Further reading

External links