Pope Celestine II

Celestine II, whose real name was Guido di Castello, dt Guido of Città di Castello († March 8, 1144 ) was pope from September 26, 1143 until March 8, 1144. His term lasted only five months, 13 days, buried he was in the Lateran. His name means " Heavenly ".

Guido of Città di Castello was the first Officials of the Roman Curia, who bore the title of master. He had heard in his youth, Peter Abelard in Paris and was kind to him throughout his life.

Before his short pontificate he was from 1127 cardinal deacon of Santa Maria in Via Lata. In this rank he took in 1131 at the altar consecration in Morigny by Pope Innocent II in part and met his former teacher.

He received his doctorate in 1133 for Cardinal Priest of San Marco.

In 1140 he was on the papal mission in France, before the Council of Sens, which condemned Abelard. Guido was just like his colleague Cardinal Hyacinth Bobo of Bernard of Clairvaux suspected to be a defender of Abelard at the Roman Curia. The accusation was not unreasonably. Guido brought to the public burning of books Abelard in Rome in the early summer of 1141 whose works Theologia and the Sic et Non - into the library of his home town of Città di Castello, to save them for posterity, against the Pope's will.

Just two days after Pope Innocent's death, on 26 September 1143 Guido was chosen by Città di Castello to Pope Celestine II. This choice of Abelard 's friend makes the deep divide clearly that ran through the Roman Curia. Guido, now Pope Celestine II was very learned. In his pious attitude and binding nature he was like Abbot Peter the Venerable of Cluny. But at the time when he was elected Pope, the people of Rome against the Papacy leaned on, and Guido was in the half- year of his pontificate, which still remained to him, achieve little.

The most important act of his tenure was the absolution of the penitent King Louis VII of France and the lifting of the interdict, which had been on the land for three years. The alliance of its predecessor with King Roger II of Sicily he solved.

Pope Celestine II died on 8 March 1144 probably an unnatural death, probably by poisoning.