Pope Gregory VIII

Gregory VIII
Gregory VIII
Papacy began	October 25, 1187
Papacy ended	December 17, 1187
Predecessor	Urban III
Successor	Clement III
Personal details
Birth name	Alberto di Morra
Born	c. 1100/1105; Benevento, Papal States, Holy Roman Empire
Died	December 17, 1187; Pisa, Republic of Pisa, Italy, Holy Roman Empire
	Other Popes named Gregory

Not to be confused with the earlier Antipope Gregory VIII

Pope Gregory VIII (c. 1100/1105, Benevento, Italy–December 17, 1187, Pisa, Italy), born Alberto di Morra, was Pope from October 25, 1187 until his death.

Early life

Alberto di Morra was born about 1110 in Benevento, Italy. His father was the nobleman Sartorius di Morra. He became a monk early in life, either as a Cistercian in Laon, or a Benedictine at Monte Cassino. Alberto later joined a new religious order, the Premonstratensian or Norbertine order, probably between the ages of 20-30. He was a canon at St. Martin's Abbey in Laon.^[1] He later became a professor of canon law in Bologna.

Cardinal

In 1156, Pope Adrian IV made him cardinal-deacon of Sant'adriano, and on on March 14, 1158 he became cardinal-priest of San Lorenzo in Lucina. As a papal legate of Pope Alexander III, he was sent to teach canon law throughout Europe in the 1160s, and was sent to Portugal to crown Afonso II. He also brought an offer of reconciliation in 1163 to Holy Roman Emperor Frederick Barbarossa, whom Pope Alexander III had excommunicated in 1160. Alexander also sent him to England to investigate the murder of Thomas Becket, and he absolved King Henry II of the murder during the Council of Avranches. From 1177-1179, Alberto also served as a legate in Italy and in February 1178 he was named Chancellor of the Holy Roman Church. It was in this position that he "...compiled a Forma Dicendi, a collection of official papal acts, and also completed a codification of the cursus, a compilation of the very stringent rules governing the euphonious arrangements of sentence endings and phrasing in papal acts. In his honor, the cursus was called stylus gregorianus."^[2] These two documents were very influential in shaping the rhetoric used in papal documents. Shortly before his election into the papacy, Alberto founded a monastery in his hometown of Benevento.

Pope

On October 21, 1187, the day after the death of Pope Urban III, Alberto di Morra was elected Pope and took the name Gregory VIII, in honor of Pope Gregory VII. He was consecrated on October 25. His previous dealings with Frederick Barbarossa put the church back in a friendly relationship with the Holy Roman Emperor. In response to the defeat of the crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem at the Battle of Hattin, Gregory issued the papal bull Audita tremendi, calling for the Third Crusade.^[3] Gregory travelled to Pisa in order to end Pisan hostilities with Genoa so that both seaports and naval fleets could join together for the crusade. On the way to Pisa, he stopped at Lucca and ordered Antipope Victor IV's body to be removed from his tomb and his remains thrown out of the church.

Death

Gregory died in Pisa on December 17, 1187 of a fever, after holding the Papacy for only 57 days. He was buried in the Duomo in Pisa. He was succeeded by Pope Clement III. According to Joseph S. Brusher, "His pontificate though brief was glorious."^[4]

References

↑ "Gregory, the eighth of that name…they declare from records of St. Martin of Laon to have once been a canon of that church..." Basil R. Reuss, "A Norbertine Pope?," rev. of Catholic University of America Press, The Catholic Historical Review July 1933: 200-03 <http://www.jstor.org/stable/25013158>.
↑ Philippe Levillain, ed. The Papacy: An Encyclopedia, New York: Routledge, 2002, 653.
↑ J. N. Kelly, The Oxford Dictionary of Popes, New York: Oxford UP, 1986, 183.
↑ Joseph S. Brusher, Popes through the Ages, 342.

Bibliography

Brusher, Joseph S. Popes through the Ages.
Delaney, John J., and James E. Tobin. Dictionary of Catholic Biography. New York, NY: Doubleday, 1961.
Kelly, J. N. The Oxford Dictionary of Popes. New York: Oxford UP, 1986.
Levillain, Philippe, ed. The Papacy: An Encyclopedia. New York: Routledge, 2002.
Loughlin, James. "Pope Gregory VIII." The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 6. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1909. 7 December 2008 <http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/06795a.htm>.
"Premonstratenisans/Norbertines A Look at out Way of Life." The International Website for the Order of Premontre. The Order of Premontre. 7 December 2008 <http://www.premontre.org/publica/apostolates%20page/apost-life.htm>.

Peter • Linus • Anacletus • Clement I • Evaristus • Alexander I • Sixtus I • Telesphorus • Hyginus • Pius I • Anicetus • Soter • Eleuterus • Victor I • Zephyrinus • Callixtus I • Urban I • Pontian • Anterus • Fabian • Cornelius • Lucius I • Stephen I • Sixtus II • Dionysius • Felix I • Eutychian • Caius • Marcellinus • Marcellus I • Eusebius • Miltiades • Silvester I • Mark • Julius I • Liberius • Damasus I • Siricius • Anastasius I • Innocent I • Zosimus • Boniface I • Celestine I • Sixtus III • Leo I • Hilarius • Simplicius • Felix III • Gelasius I • Anastasius II • Symmachus • Hormisdas • John I • Felix IV • Boniface II • John II • Agapetus I • Silverius • Vigilius • Pelagius I • John III • Benedict I • Pelagius II • Gregory I • Sabinian • Boniface III • Boniface IV • Adeodatus I • Boniface V • Honorius I • Severinus • John IV • Theodore I • Martin I • Eugene I • Vitalian • Adeodatus II • Donus • Agatho • Leo II • Benedict II • John V • Conon • Sergius I • John VI • John VII • Sisinnius • Constantine • Gregory II • Gregory III • Zachary • Stephen II • Paul I • Stephen III • Adrian I • Leo III • Stephen IV • Paschal I • Eugene II • Valentine • Gregory IV • Sergius II • Leo IV • Benedict III • Nicholas I • Adrian II • John VIII • Marinus I • Adrian III • Stephen V • Formosus • Boniface VI • Stephen VI • Romanus • Theodore II • John IX • Benedict IV • Leo V • Sergius III • Anastasius III • Lando • John X • Leo VI • Stephen VII • John XI • Leo VII • Stephen VIII • Marinus II • Agapetus II • John XII • Leo VIII • Benedict V • John XIII • Benedict VI • Benedict VII • John XIV • John XV • Gregory V • Silvester II • John XVII • John XVIII • Sergius IV • Benedict VIII • John XIX • Benedict IX • Silvester III • Benedict IX • Gregory VI • Clement II • Benedict IX • Damasus II • Leo IX • Victor II • Stephen IX • Nicholas II • Alexander II • Gregory VII • Victor III • Urban II • Paschal II • Gelasius II • Callixtus II • Honorius II • Innocent II • Celestine II • Lucius II • Eugene III • Anastasius IV • Adrian IV • Alexander III • Lucius III • Urban III • Gregory VIII • Clement III • Celestine III • Innocent III • Honorius III • Gregory IX • Celestine IV • Innocent IV • Alexander IV • Urban IV • Clement IV • Gregory X • Innocent V • Adrian V • John XXI • Nicholas III • Martin IV • Honorius IV • Nicholas IV • Celestine V • Boniface VIII • Benedict XI • Clement V • John XXII • Benedict XII • Clement VI • Innocent VI • Urban V • Gregory XI • Urban VI • Boniface IX • Innocent VII • Gregory XII • Martin V • Eugene IV • Nicholas V • Callixtus III • Pius II • Paul II • Sixtus IV • Innocent VIII • Alexander VI • Pius III • Julius II • Leo X • Adrian VI • Clement VII • Paul III • Julius III • Marcellus II • Paul IV • Pius IV • Pius V • Gregory XIII • Sixtus V • Urban VII • Gregory XIV • Innocent IX • Clement VIII • Leo XI • Paul V • Gregory XV • Urban VIII • Innocent X • Alexander VII • Clement IX • Clement X • Innocent XI • Alexander VIII • Innocent XII • Clement XI • Innocent XIII • Benedict XIII • Clement XII • Benedict XIV • Clement XIII • Clement XIV • Pius VI • Pius VII • Leo XII • Pius VIII • Gregory XVI • Pius IX • Leo XIII • Pius X • Benedict XV • Pius XI • Pius XII • John XXIII • Paul VI • John Paul I • John Paul II • Benedict XVI • Francis

af:Pous Gregorius VIII ca:Gregori VIII cs:Řehoř VIII. eo:Gregorio la 8-a fa:گرگوری هشتم gl:Gregorio VIII, papa ko:교황 그레고리오 8세 hr:Grgur VIII. id:Paus Gregorius VIII is:Gregoríus 8. jv:Paus Gregorius VIII sw:Papa Gregori VIII la:Gregorius VIII lt:Grigalius VIII hu:VIII. Gergely pápa mk:Папа Григур VIII mr:पोप ग्रेगोरी आठवा ja:グレゴリウス8世 (ローマ教皇) no:Gregor VIII nds:Gregor VIII. (Paapst) pt:Papa Gregório VIII ro:Papa Grigore al VIII-lea ru:Григорий VIII (папа римский) fi:Gregorius VIII sv:Gregorius VIII tl:Gregorio VIII th:สมเด็จพระสันตะปาปาเกรกอรีที่ 8 uk:Григорій VIII war:Papa Gregorio VIII zh:額我略八世

[1] "Gregory, the eighth of that name…they declare from records of St. Martin of Laon to have once been a canon of that church..." Basil R. Reuss, "A Norbertine Pope?," rev. of Catholic University of America Press, The Catholic Historical Review July 1933: 200-03 <http://www.jstor.org/stable/25013158>.

[2] Philippe Levillain, ed. The Papacy: An Encyclopedia, New York: Routledge, 2002, 653.

[3] J. N. Kelly, The Oxford Dictionary of Popes, New York: Oxford UP, 1986, 183.

[4] Joseph S. Brusher, Popes through the Ages, 342.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]