Pope Paschal I (; died 824) was the

bishop of Rome The pope is the bishop of Rome and the visible head of the worldwide Catholic Church. He is also known as the supreme pontiff, Roman pontiff, or sovereign pontiff. From the 8th century until 1870, the pope was the sovereign or head of sta ...

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 25 January 817 to his death in 824. Paschal was a member of an aristocratic Roman family. Before his election to the papacy, he was abbot of St. Stephen's monastery, which served pilgrims. In

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

in 823 he crowned

Lothair I Lothair I (9th. C. Frankish: ''Ludher'' and Medieval Latin: ''Lodharius''; Dutch and Medieval Latin: ''Lotharius''; German: ''Lothar''; French: ''Lothaire''; Italian: ''Lotario''; 795 – 29 September 855) was a 9th-century emperor of the ...

Holy Roman Emperor The Holy Roman Emperor, originally and officially the Emperor of the Romans (disambiguation), Emperor of the Romans (; ) during the Middle Ages, and also known as the Roman-German Emperor since the early modern period (; ), was the ruler and h ...

. He rebuilt a number of churches in Rome, including three basilicas.

Early life

According to the ''

Liber Pontificalis The ''Liber Pontificalis'' (Latin for 'pontifical book' or ''Book of the Popes'') is a book of biography, biographies of popes from Saint Peter until the 15th century. The original publication of the ''Liber Pontificalis'' stopped with Pope Adr ...

'', Paschal was a native of Lazio

born Pascale Massimi and son of Bonosus and

Episcopa Theodora Theodora, mother of Pope Paschal I and wife of Bonusus, lived in the early 9th century CE and is depicted in a mosaic in the Church of Santa Prassede, Rome (c. 900 CE), with the title " Episcopa." Scholars debate whether this indicates she was a ...

. The '' Liber Censuum'' says that Paschal was from the Massimi branch of the Massimo family, as was his predecessor, Stephen IV.Goodson, 2010, p. 9 & n.13.

Pope Leo III Pope Leo III (; died 12 June 816) was bishop of Rome and ruler of the Papal States from 26 December 795 to his death on 12 June 816. Protected by Charlemagne from the supporters of his predecessor, Adrian I, Leo subsequently strengthened Charlem ...

placed Paschal in charge of the monastery of St Stephen of the Abyssinians, where his responsibilities included the care of pilgrims visiting Rome. According to early modern accounts, Leo III may have elevated Paschal as the

cardinal priest A cardinal is a senior member of the clergy of the Catholic Church. As titular members of the clergy of the Diocese of Rome, they serve as advisors to the pope, who is the bishop of Rome and the visible head of the worldwide Catholic Church. Ca ...

Santa Prassede The Basilica of Saint Praxedes (, ), commonly known in Italian as Santa Prassede, is an early medieval titulus (Roman Catholic), titular church and minor basilica located near the papal basilica of Saint Mary Major, on Via di Santa Prassede, Mont ...

.Goodson, 2010, p. 9. Goodson attributes this account to a "desire to explain the attention that the pope so lavishly and prominently paid to that church later in his career."

Accession

Paschal became

pope The pope is the bishop of Rome and the Head of the Church#Catholic Church, visible head of the worldwide Catholic Church. He is also known as the supreme pontiff, Roman pontiff, or sovereign pontiff. From the 8th century until 1870, the po ...

on 25 January 817, just one day after the sudden death of Stephen IV. This decision was made without the sanction of Emperor

Louis the Pious Louis the Pious (; ; ; 16 April 778 – 20 June 840), also called the Fair and the Debonaire, was King of the Franks and Holy Roman Emperor, co-emperor with his father, Charlemagne, from 813. He was also King of Aquitaine from 781. As the only ...

. Paschal began his pontificate apologizing for this slight, stressing that the office had been thrust upon him. He claimed that the decision had been made to avoid factional strife in Rome. According to the ''Liber Pontificalis'', Pope Paschal's legate Theodore returned with a document titled ''Pactum cum Paschali pontifice'', in which the emperor congratulated Paschal, recognized his sovereignty over the

, and guaranteed the free election of future pontiffs.John N.D. Kelly, ''Gran Dizionario Illustrato dei Papi'', p. 271 This document has since been challenged by historians as a forgery.

Papacy

At first, Emperor Louis confirmed the agreement reached in

Rheims 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 by ...

with Paschal's predecessor, Stephen IV, and detailed in the document '' Pactum Ludovicanum'' about free papal elections and noninterference in Church affairs unless officially asked for help. The two worked together to send Archbishop Ebbo of Rheims to evangelize the

Danes Danes (, ), or Danish people, are an ethnic group and nationality native to Denmark and a modern nation identified with the country of Denmark. This connection may be ancestral, legal, historical, or cultural. History Early history Denmark ...

in 822. On Easter Sunday of 823, Paschal crowned and

anointed Anointing is the ritual act of pouring aromatic oil over a person's head or entire body. By extension, the term is also applied to related acts of sprinkling, dousing, or smearing a person or object with any perfumed oil, milk, butter, or oth ...

Louis's son

. Lothair was less amenable to cooperating with the Papal Curia than his father. He held a court and declared

Farfa Abbey 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 ...

, just north of Rome, exempt from papal taxation. Paschal's aristocratic opponents in the papal palace, especially his former legate, Theodore, and his son-in-law, Leo, who turned to the young leader of the Franks for support in their opposition to Paschal. The decision outraged the Roman nobility and led to an uprising against the authority of the Roman Curia in northern Italy led by Theodore and Leo. The revolt was quickly suppressed, and two of its leaders were seized, blinded, and afterwards beheaded by members of the papal household. Paschal denied any involvement, but the Emperor remained suspicious and sent two commissioners to investigate. Paschal refused to submit to the authority of the imperial court, but he did take an oath of purgation before a synod of thirty-four bishops. The commissioners returned to

Aachen Aachen is the List of cities in North Rhine-Westphalia by population, 13th-largest city in North Rhine-Westphalia and the List of cities in Germany by population, 27th-largest city of Germany, with around 261,000 inhabitants. Aachen is locat ...

, and Emperor Louis let the matter drop.

Construction projects

Paschal gave shelter to exiled monks from the

Byzantine Empire The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived History of the Roman Empire, the events that caused the ...

who had fled persecution for their opposition to

iconoclasm Iconoclasm ()From . ''Iconoclasm'' may also be considered as a back-formation from ''iconoclast'' (Greek: εἰκοκλάστης). The corresponding Greek word for iconoclasm is εἰκονοκλασία, ''eikonoklasia''. is the social belie ...

. He both offered the exiled Byzantine mosaic artists work decorating churches in Rome and wrote to Louis the Pious and the Byzantine emperor Leo the Armenian in support of those who opposed iconoclasm. Paschal rebuilt three basilicas of Rome:

Santa Maria in Domnica The Minor Basilica of St. Mary in Domnica alla Navicella (Basilica Minore di Santa Maria in Domnica alla Navicella), or simply Santa Maria in Domnica or Santa Maria alla Navicella, is a Roman Catholic basilica in Rome, Italy, dedicated to the Bless ...

, and

Santa Cecilia in Trastevere Santa Cecilia in Trastevere is a 5th-century Churches of Rome, church in Rome, Italy, in the Trastevere rioni of Rome, rione. It is dedicated to the Roman martyr Saint Cecilia (early 3rd century AD) and serves as the conventual church for the adja ...

. These churches contain mosaics with lifelike portraits of Paschal. Paschal is credited with finding the body of

Saint Cecilia Saint Cecilia (), also spelled Cecelia, was a Roman Christian virgin martyr, who is venerated in Catholic, Eastern Orthodox Church, Orthodox, Anglican Communion, Anglican, and some Lutheran churches, such as the Church of Sweden. She became the ...

in the Catacomb of Callixtus and translating it to the rebuild the basilica of Santa Cecilia in Trastevere. Paschal also undertook significant renovations on

Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore Santa Maria Maggiore (), also known as the Basilica of Saint Mary Major or the Basilica of Saint Mary the Great, is one of the four major papal basilicas and one of the Seven Pilgrim Churches of Rome. The largest Marian church in Rome, it is ...

. In addition, Paschal added two oratories to

Old St. Peter's Basilica Old St. Peter's Basilica was the church buildings that stood, from the 4th to 16th centuries, where St. Peter's Basilica stands today in Vatican City. Construction of the basilica, built over the historical site of the Circus of Nero, began dur ...

, SS. Processus et Martinianus and SS. Xistus et Fabianus, which did not survive the 16th century renovation of St. Peter's. Paschal is also sometimes credited with the renovation of

Santo Stefano del Cacco Santo Stefano de Pinea or more commonly Santo Stefano del Cacco is a church in Rome dedicated to Saint Stephen, located at Via di Santo Stefano del Cacco 26. Name The name "del Cacco" may refer to the Religion in Ancient Rome, Roman deity Cacus, ...

in early modern sources, but this renovation was actually undertaken by

Pope Paschal II Pope Paschal II (; 1050 1055 – 21 January 1118), born Raniero Raineri di Bleda, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 13 August 1099 to his death in 1118. A monk of the Abbey of Cluny, he was creat ...

. According to Goodson, Paschal "used church-building to express the authority of the papacy as an independent state."Goodson, 2010, p. 14.

Writings

Only six known letters written by Paschal remain.Goodson, 2010, p. 8 & n.11. The first (Jaffé 2546) confirms the possessions of the Territorial Abbey of Farfa. The second and third (Jaffé 2547 and Jaffé 2548) were written to a Frankish abbot prior to and after his elevation as archbishop of Vienne. The fourth (Jaffé 2550) was written to

. The fifth (Jaffé 2551, preserved in the Biblioteca Ambrosiana) confirms the privileges of the church of

Ravenna Ravenna ( ; , also ; ) is the capital city of the Province of Ravenna, in the Emilia-Romagna region of Northern Italy. It was the capital city of the Western Roman Empire during the 5th century until its Fall of Rome, collapse in 476, after which ...

. The last (Jaffé 2553) was written to Ebbo, the

archbishop of Reims The Archdiocese of Reims or Rheims (; French language, French: ''Archidiocèse de Reims'') is a Latin Church ecclesiastic territory or archdiocese of the Catholic Church in France. Erected as a diocese around 250 by Sixtus of Reims, the diocese w ...

Death

Paschal died on 11 February 824. The Roman Curia refused him the honour of burial within

St. Peter's Basilica The Papal Basilica of Saint Peter in the Vatican (), or simply St. Peter's Basilica (; ), is a church of the Italian High Renaissance located in Vatican City, an independent microstate enclaved within the city of Rome, Italy. It was initiall ...

because of his harsh government of the Roman people. He was instead buried in the Basilica of

, which also contains the famous ''

'' mosaic of his mother. Paschal was

canonized Canonization is the declaration of a deceased person as an officially recognized saint, specifically, the official act of a Christian communion declaring a person worthy of public veneration and entering their name in the canon catalogue of sa ...

in the late sixteenth century. His feast day in the Roman calendar prior to 1963 was 14 May. It is currently celebrated on 11 February. Pope and Patriarch of Rome (817–824), confessor is honored in Orthodox Church on 14 May.

References

External links

Opera Omnia by Migne Patrologia Latina with analytical indexes
{{DEFAULTSORT:Paschal 01 8th-century births 824 deaths Italian popes Papal saints 9th-century archbishops 9th-century Christian saints 9th-century popes Popes Patriarchs in Italy Byzantine Iconoclasm Burials at St. Peter's Basilica Iconoclasm