Pope Honorius III

Honorius III, né Cencio Savelli (b. 1148 d. March 18, 1227), was pope from 1216 to 1227. He was born at Rome in 1148 as Cencio Savelli, and died at Rome on 18 March, 1227. His family was named after the fortress of Sabellum, near Albano.

Early Work

For a time he was canon at the church of Santa Maria Maggiore, then he became papal chamberlain in 1188 and Cardinal-Deacon of Santa Lucia in Silice in 1193. Under Pope Clement III and Pope Celestine III he was treasurer of the Roman Church. Celestine III made him a cardinal deacon before Mar. 5, 1193.

In 1197 he became tutor of the future Emperor Frederick II, who had been given as ward to Pope Innocent III by the Empress-widow Constantia.

Innocent III raised him to the rank of a cardinal priest before Mar. 13, 1198; and under Pope Innocent III he became Cardinal-Priest of Santi Giovanni et Paolo.

Elected Pope

On 18 July, 1216, nineteen cardinals assembled at Perugia (where Innocent had died two days previously) with the purpose of electing a new pope. The troublous state of affairs in Italy, the threatening attitude of the Tatars, and the fear of a schism, induced the cardinals to agree to an election by compromise. Cardinals Ugolino of Ostia (afterwards Gregory IX) and Guido of Praeneste were empowered to appoint the new pope. Their choice fell upon Cencio Savelli, who accepted the tiara with reluctance and took the name of Honorius III. He was consecrated at Perugia 24 July, was crowned at Rome 31 August, and took possession of the Lateran 3 September. The Roman people were greatly elated at the election, for Honorius III was himself a Roman and by his extreme kindness had endeared himself to the hearts of all.

Like his famous predecessor Innocent III, he had set his mind on the achievement of two great things, the recovery of the Holy Land in the Fifth Crusade and a spiritual reform of the entire Church; but quite in contrast with him he sought these achievements by kindness and indulgence rather than by force and severity.

Fifth Crusade

The crusade was endorsed by the Lateran Council of 1215, and he started preparations for the crusade to begin in 1217. To procure the means necessary for this colossal undertaking, the pope and the cardinals were to contribute the tenth part, and all other ecclesiastics the twentieth part, of their income for three years. Though the money thus collected was considerable, it was by no means sufficient for a general crusade as planned by Honorius III.

Far-reaching prospects seemed to open before him when he crowned Pierre de Courtenay (Apr., 1217) as Latin Emperor of Constantinople; but the new emperor was captured on his eastward journey and died in confinement.

Honorius III was aware that there was only one man in Europe who could bring about the recovery of the Holy Land, and that man was his former pupil Frederick II of Germany. Like many other rulers, Frederick II had taken an oath to embark for the Holy Land in 1217. But Frederick hung back, and Honorius repeatedly put off the date for the beginning of the expedition.

In April 1220, Frederick was elected emperor, and on Nov. 22, 1220 he was crowned Holy Roman Emperor in Rome.

In spite of the insistence of Honorius, Frederick still delayed, and the Egyptian campaign failed miserably with the loss of Damietta (Sept. 8, 1221).

Most rulers of Europe were engaged in wars of their own and could not leave their country for any length of time. Andrew II of Hungary and, somewhat later, a fleet of crusaders from the region along the Lower Rhine finally departed for the Holy Land, took Damietta and a few other places in Egypt; but lack of unity among the Christians, also rivalry between the leaders and the papal legate Pelagius, resulted in failure.

June 24, 1225, was finally fixed as the date for the departure of Frederick; and Honorius brought about his marriage with Isabella, heiress of the kingdom of Jerusalem, with a view to binding him closer to the plan. But the treaty of San Germano in July 1225 permitted a further delay of two years.

Frederick now made serious preparations for the crusade. In the midst of it, however, Honorius died on Mar. 18, 1227 without seeing the achievement of his hopes. It was left to his successor Gregory IX to insist upon their accomplishment.

But Honorius really had too large a task; besides the liberation of the holy land, he felt bound to forward the repression of heresy in the south of France, the war for the faith in the Spanish peninsula, the planting of Christianity in the lands along the Baltic, and the maintenance of the impossible Latin empire in Constantinople.

Of these duties the rooting out of heresy lay nearest to Honorius's heart. In the south of France he carried on Innocent's work, confirming Simon de Montfort in the possession of the lands of Raymond of Toulouse and succeeding, as Innocent had not, in drawing the royal house of France into the conflict.

The most widely important event of this period was the siege and capture of Avignon. Both Honorius and Louis VIII turned a deaf ear to Frederick's assertion of the claims of the empire to that town.

Other Work

Honorius gave papal sanction to the Dominican order in 1216, and to the Franciscan in 1223. He approved the Rule of St. Dominic in his Bull "Religiosam vitam", dated 22 December, 1216, and that of St. Francis in his Bull "Solet annuere", dated 29 November, 1223.

During his pontificate also many of the tertiary orders first came into existence. On 30 January, 1226, he approved the Carmelite Order in his Bull "Ut vivendi normam". He also approved the religious congregation "Val des Ecoliers" (Vallis scholarium, Valley of scholars), which had been founded by four pious professors of theology at the University of Paris.

Being a man of learning, Honorius insisted that the clergy should receive a thorough training, especially in theology. In the case of a certain Hugh whom the chapter of Chartres had elected bishop, he withheld his approbation because the bishop-elect did not possess sufficient knowledge, "quum pateretur in litteratura defectum", as the pope states in a letter dated 8 January, 1219. Another bishop he even deprived of his office on account of illiteracy.

He bestowed various privileges upon the Universities of Paris and Bologna, the two greatest seats of learning during those times. In order to facilitate the study of theology in dioceses that were distant from the great centres of learning, he ordered in his Bull "Super specula Domini" that some talented young men should be sent to a recognized theological school to study theology with the purpose of teaching it afterwards in their own dioceses.

Writings

Honorius III acquired some fame as an author. The most important of his writings is the Liber censuum Romanae ecclesiae, which is the most valuable source for the medieval position of the Church in regard to property, and also serves in part as a continuation of the Liber Pontificalis. It comprises a list of the revenues of the Apostolic See, a record of donations received, privileges granted, and contracts made with cities and rulers. It was begun under Clement III and completed in 1192 under Celestine III. The original manuscript of the Liber Censuum is still in existence (Vaticanus, 8486)

Honorius III wrote also a life of Celestine III; a life of Gregory VII; an "Ordo Romanus", which is a sort of ceremonial containing the rites of the Church for various occasions; and 34 sermons.

Initial text taken from a paper copy of the 9th edition EB; 1881. Please update as needed.

 This article incorporates text from a publication in the public domain: Jackson, Samuel Macauley, ed. (1914). New Schaff–Herzog Encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge (third ed.). London and New York: Funk and Wagnalls. {{cite encyclopedia}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)  This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company. {{cite encyclopedia}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)