Blessed Eugene III
Blessed Eugene III (born c. 1080 AD in Pisa, Tuscany, Italy; died July 8, 1153 AD in Tivoli, Latium, Italy) was an Italian Cistercian monk and the first Cistercian to become Pope of the Catholic Church, reigning as Pope Eugene III from 1145 to 1153. He was a student and beloved disciple of Saint Bernard of Clairvaux. His papacy was marked by reform, by the Second Crusade, and by the struggle to maintain papal independence from Roman factionalism. He was beatified by Pope Pius IX on October 3, 1872. His feast day is July 8.
Stored in Cargo: Blessed Eugene III
| Blessed Eugene III | |
|---|---|
| Feast Day | July 08 |
| Profession | Cistercian monk; Abbot of San Vincenzo alle Tre Fontane (Rome); Pope of the Catholic Church (February 15, 1145 – July 8, 1153); disciple of Saint Bernard of Clairvaux; first Cistercian pope; Italian born at Pisa; reforming pope of the 12th century |
| Rel. Affiliation | Catholic Church; Cistercian Order (Order of Cistercians, OCist); Clairvaux tradition; papacy; 12th-century reform papacy; Italian Catholic Church |
| Patronage | The papacy; Cistercian monks called to governance; those who govern others while preserving interior life; Pisa; Tivoli; Cistercian Order |
| Attributes | Papal tiara and vestments; Cistercian white habit (worn under vestments); book ("De Consideratione"); July 8 feast; Clairvaux lily |
| Birthplace | Pisa, Tuscany, Italy |
| Death Place | Tivoli, Latium, Italy |
| Cause of Death | Natural death; died July 8, 1153, at Tivoli, Latium; Pope Eugene III (born Bernardo Pignatelli of Pisa) was a Cistercian monk who entered the monastery of Clairvaux under Saint Bernard of Clairvaux; he was elected Pope on February 15, 1145 — just days after the murder of his predecessor Lucius II — but faced such violent Roman factional opposition that he had to flee Rome almost immediately; he governed the Church from various locations in Italy and France; he commissioned Saint Bernard to preach the Second Crusade (1147-1149); he issued the bull "Divina dispensatione" authorizing the Second Crusade; his papacy produced important reform decrees and the bull "Quantum praedecessores"; he died at Tivoli on July 8, 1153, just weeks before Saint Bernard himself died; he was beatified by Pope Pius IX on October 3, 1872 |
| Primary Shrine | Formerly at Saint Peter's Basilica, Rome; July 8 feast; beatified Pius IX October 3 1872 |
| Liturgical Class | Not in universal Roman calendar; July 8 feast in the Cistercian Order and in local Italian tradition |
| Historic Class | Not in 1962 calendar |
Biography
Bernardo Pignatelli was born around 1080 in Pisa, Tuscany. He entered the Cistercian Order and became a monk at the Abbey of Clairvaux under the direction of Saint Bernard of Clairvaux, one of the greatest spiritual masters of the Middle Ages.
He rose to become Abbot of San Vincenzo alle Tre Fontane in Rome. On February 15, 1145, he was elected Pope — taking the name Eugene III — just days after the death of his predecessor Lucius II.
He found Rome under the control of a hostile civic commune led by the radical reformer Arnold of Brescia and was forced to govern the Church largely from outside Rome, spending much of his papacy in France and various Italian cities. He commissioned Saint Bernard to preach the Second Crusade (1147–1149).
Despite the political turbulence of his reign, he maintained his Cistercian simplicity and spiritual life. Saint Bernard wrote the "De Consideratione" — a treatise on papal spirituality and self-governance — for him.
He died July 8, 1153, at Tivoli, just weeks before Saint Bernard's own death.
He was beatified by Pope Pius IX on October 3, 1872. His feast day is July 8.
Significant locations
Legend
Birth location: Pisa, Tuscany, Italy
Death location: Tivoli, Latium, Italy
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Feast day
July 8
Veneration
Blessed Eugene III (c. 1080–1153) was an Italian Cistercian monk, disciple of Saint Bernard of Clairvaux, who became the first Cistercian pope (1145–1153) and maintained his monastic simplicity while governing a Church beset by political crises; beatified Pius IX on October 3, 1872. Feast July 8.
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