Pope Anastasius IV ( – 3 December 1154), born Corrado Demetri della Suburra, was head of the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

and ruler of the

Papal States The Papal States ( ; ; ), officially the State of the Church, were a conglomeration of territories on the Italian peninsula under the direct sovereign rule of the pope from 756 to 1870. They were among the major states of Italy from the 8th c ...

from 8 July 1153 to his death in 1154. He is the most recent pope to take the name "Anastasius" upon his election.

Early life

He was a

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...

, son of Benedictus de Suburra, probably of the family of Demetri, and became a secular clerk. He was created cardinal-priest of S. Pudenziana by Pope Paschal II no later than in 1114. In 1127 or 1128, Pope Honorius II promoted him to the suburbicarian See of Sabina. He was probably given this position for siding with Honorius II during a dispute over the appointment of a new

abbot of Farfa Farfa Abbey () is a territorial abbey in northern Lazio, central Italy. In the Middle Ages, it was one of the richest and most famous abbeys in Italy. It belongs to the Benedictines, Benedictine Order and is located about from Rome, in the ''co ...

. He had taken part in the double papal election of 1130, had been one of the most determined opponents of

Antipope Anacletus II Anacletus II (died January 25, 1138), born Pietro Pierleoni, was an antipope who ruled in opposition to Pope Innocent II from 1130 until his death in 1138. After the death of Pope Honorius II, the college of Cardinal (Catholic Church), cardinals ...

and, when

Pope Innocent II Pope Innocent II (; died 24 September 1143), born Gregorio Papareschi, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 14 February 1130 to his death in 1143. His election as Pope was controversial, and the first eight years o ...

fled to

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

, had been left behind as his vicar in

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

. At the time of his election to the papacy in July 1153, he was

Dean of the College of Cardinals The dean of the College of Cardinals () presides over the College of Cardinals in the Catholic Church, serving as ('first among equals'). The position was established in the 12th century. He always holds the rank of a cardinal bishop and is as ...

and probably the oldest member of that body.

Pontificate

During his short pontificate, he played the part of a peacemaker; he came to terms with the Emperor

Frederick Barbarossa Frederick Barbarossa (December 1122 – 10 June 1190), also known as Frederick I (; ), was the Holy Roman Emperor from 1155 until his death in 1190. He was elected King of Germany in Frankfurt on 4 March 1152 and crowned in Aachen on 9 March 115 ...

in the vexing question of the appointment to the See of Magdeburg and closed the long quarrel, which had raged through four pontificates, about the appointment of William Fitzherbert (commonly known as

Saint William of York William of York (late 11th century – 8 June 1154) was an English priest and twice Archbishop of York, before and after a rival, Henry Murdac. He was thought to be related to King Stephen of England, who helped to secure his election to the pr ...

) to the see of

York York is a cathedral city in North Yorkshire, England, with Roman Britain, Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers River Ouse, Yorkshire, Ouse and River Foss, Foss. It has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a Yor ...

by sending him the

pallium The pallium (derived from the Roman ''pallium'' or ''palla'', a woolen cloak; : pallia) is an ecclesiastical vestment in the Catholic Church, originally peculiar to the pope, but for many centuries bestowed by the Holy See upon metropolitan bish ...

in spite of the continued opposition of the powerful

Cistercian The Cistercians (), officially the Order of Cistercians (, abbreviated as OCist or SOCist), are a Catholic religious order of monks and nuns that branched off from the Benedictines and follow the Rule of Saint Benedict, as well as the contri ...

order. Anastasius IV also devoted much time and expenses on the Lateran Basilica and Palace back at Rome. Anastasius IV died on 3 December 1154 and was succeeded by Cardinal Nicholas Breakspear as

Pope Adrian IV Pope Adrian (or Hadrian) IV (; born Nicholas Breakspear (or Brekespear); 1 September 1159) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 4 December 1154 until his death in 1159. Born in England, Adrian IV was the first Pope ...

. Anastasius IV was laid to rest within the

Helena Helena may refer to: People *Helena (given name), a given name (including a list of people and characters with the name) *Katri Helena (born 1945), Finnish singer * Saint Helena (disambiguation), this includes places Places Greece * Helena ...

sarcophagus which was brought out and reused as his tomb.

Notes

Bibliography

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Anastasius 04 Popes Italian popes Cardinal-bishops of Sabina Clergy from Rome 1070s births 1154 deaths Deans of the College of Cardinals Cardinal-nephews 12th-century popes Burials at the Archbasilica of Saint John Lateran

Early life

Pontificate

See also

Notes

Bibliography