John Halgren of Abbeville ( – 28 September 1237) was a French scholastic theologian and cleric. He served successively as a university professor, priest, prior, archbishop, cardinal,

apostolic legate 300px, A woodcut showing Henry II of England greeting the pope's legate. A papal legate or apostolic legate (from the ancient Roman title '' legatus'') is a personal representative of the pope to foreign nations, or to some part of the Cathol ...

and diplomat. John was born around 1180 in

Abbeville Abbeville (, vls, Abbekerke, pcd, Advile) is a commune in the Somme department and in Hauts-de-France region in northern France. It is the chef-lieu of one of the arrondissements of Somme. Located on the river Somme, it was the capital o ...

, the son of Gui d'Abbeville and Ide de Boubers. His father's name is sometimes given as Girard or Guillaume. He may have entered the

Abbey of Cluny Cluny Abbey (; , formerly also ''Cluni'' or ''Clugny''; ) is a former Benedictine monastery in Cluny, Saône-et-Loire, France. It was dedicated to Saint Peter. The abbey was constructed in the Romanesque architectural style, with three churches ...

. He studied at the

University of Paris The University of Paris (french: link=no, Université de Paris), Metonymy, metonymically known as the Sorbonne (), was the leading university in Paris, France, active from 1150 to 1970, with the exception between 1793 and 1806 under the French Revo ...

alongside the future

Pope Gregory IX Pope Gregory IX ( la, Gregorius IX; born Ugolino di Conti; c. 1145 or before 1170 – 22 August 1241) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 19 March 1227 until his death in 1241. He is known for issuing the '' Decre ...

. He earned a

master of theology Master of Theology ( la, Theologiae Magister, abbreviated MTh, ThM, or MTheol) is a post-graduate degree offered by universities, divinity schools, and seminaries. It can serve as a transition degree for entrance into a PhD program or as a stand ...

degree. He was teaching theology there in 1217.. He was a follower of Peter the Chanter and

Stephen Langton Stephen Langton (c. 1150 – 9 July 1228) was an English Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church and Archbishop of Canterbury between 1207 and his death in 1228. The dispute between King John of England and Pope Innocent III over hi ...

. He was a canon and dean of the chapter of

Amiens Cathedral , image = 0 Amiens - Cathédrale Notre-Dame (1).JPG , imagesize = 200px , img capt = Amiens Cathedral , pushpin map = France , pushpin label position = below , coordinates = , country ...

from 27 October 1218 until April 1225. Continuing his engagement with the cathedral beyond 1225, he ounded the cathedral's first chapel in 1233 and dedicated to the Conversion of Saint Paul. He had also served as the prior of and the

cantor A cantor or chanter is a person who leads people in singing or sometimes in prayer. In formal Jewish worship, a cantor is a person who sings solo verses or passages to which the choir or congregation responds. In Judaism, a cantor sings and lead ...

of Saint-Vulfran d'Abbeville before 1217. John became archbishop of Besançon in March 1225. He was consecrated by the cardinal legate Romano Bonaventura on 19 October 1225 in

Reims Reims ( , , ; also spelled Rheims in English) is the most populous city in the French department of Marne, and the 12th most populous city in France. The city lies northeast of Paris on the Vesle river, a tributary of the Aisne. Founded ...

. On 23 December 1226, he was offered the

Latin patriarchate of Constantinople The Latin Patriarchate of Constantinople was an office established as a result of the Fourth Crusade and its conquest of Constantinople in 1204. It was a Roman Catholic replacement for the Eastern Orthodox Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantino ...

, but refused it on grounds of health. In the consistory of 18 September 1227, he was created cardinal by Gregory IX with the ''

titulus Titulus, the Latin word for "title", "label" or "inscription" (plural ''tituli'', normally italicized), may or may not be italicized as a foreign word, and may refer to: * ''Titulus'', or Titular church, one of a group of Early Christian churches ...

'' of the diocese of Sabina. John subscribed his first papal bull on 23 September 1227. He visited the kingdoms of the Iberian peninsula, including

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, In recognized minority languages of Portugal: :* mwl, República Pertuesa is a country located on the Iberian Peninsula, in Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Macaronesian ...

, as papal legate between 22 February 1228 and 3 January 1230. There he preached the

crusades The Crusades were a series of religious wars initiated, supported, and sometimes directed by the Latin Church in the medieval period. The best known of these Crusades are those to the Holy Land in the period between 1095 and 1291 that were ...

, held a synod in Lleida in 1229 and determined the boundary between the dioceses of Sigüenza and Osma. In Iberia, he met

Raymond of Penyafort Raymond of Penyafort ( ca, Sant Ramon de Penyafort, ; es, San Raimundo de Peñafort; 1175 – 6 January 1275) was a Catalan Dominican friar in the 13th century, who compiled the Decretals of Gregory IX, a collection of canonical laws th ...

. John may have become dean of the Sacred College in January 1230, as the most senior cardinal-bishop after the death of

Pelayo Gaitán Pelagio Galvani (c. 1165 – 30 January 1230, Portuguese: Latin: Pelagius) was a Leonese cardinal, and canon lawyer. He became a papal legate and leader of the Fifth Crusade. Born at Guimarães, his early life is little known. It is repeated ...

. John is sometimes said to have been one of the papal negotiators, alongside Thomas of Capua, in the talks with Emperor Frederick II that resulted in the Treaty of San Germano (1230) and ended the War of the Keys. Between 1230 and 1233, John was with the Roman Curia. In 1234, he and Cardinal Peter of Capua were sent on a diplomatic mission to Frederick II. John subscribed his last papal bull on 25 August 1237l. He died in Rome on 28 September 1237 after a long illness.See Miranda, ''op. cit.'' Various

necrologies An obituary (obit for short) is an article about a recently deceased person. Newspapers often publish obituaries as news articles. Although obituaries tend to focus on positive aspects of the subject's life, this is not always the case. Acc ...

place his date of death on September 23, 26, 28 or October 4. Some sources give the year as 1233, 1238 or 1240. He left behind four books containing 196 expository sermons on the Gospels and

Epistles An epistle (; el, ἐπιστολή, ''epistolē,'' "letter") is a writing directed or sent to a person or group of people, usually an elegant and formal didactic letter. The epistle genre of letter-writing was common in ancient Egypt as part ...

and the ''Expositio in Cantica canticorum'', a commentary on the '' Song of Songs'' written during his time in Paris.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Halgren, John People from Abbeville University of Paris alumni 1237 deaths Scholastic philosophers 13th-century French cardinals Cardinal-bishops of Sabina Diplomats of the Holy See Deans of the College of Cardinals Year of birth unknown