Pope Lucius II

Pope Celestine II has governed the Church for only five months and thirteen days from his election until his death on March 8, 1144.

The principal act of his papacy has been the absolution of Louis VII of France at the request of the penitent monarch, and the removal of the interdict under which France has lain for three years.

His successor, Gherardo Caccianemici dal Orso, had become a canon in his native Bologna, then cardinal priest of Santa Croce in Gerusalemme, later treasurer of the Roman Church, papal legate in Germany for Pope Honorius II (1124–30), and eventually for Pope Innocent II (1130–43).

It must be ascribed chiefly to his exertions that Lothair III made two expeditions to Italy for the purpose of protecting Pope Innocent II against the antipope Anacletus II (1130–38).

Innocent II had appointed him papal chancellor and librarian.

Orso assumes papacy on March 12 as Lucius II.

Giordano (or Jordan) Pierleoni is the son of the Consul Pier Leoni and therefore brother of Antipope Anacletus II and leader of the Commune of Rome, which the the democratic element had established in late autumn 1143, setting up a Senate in emulation of the Roman Republic and in opposition to the higher nobility and the papacy.

The fifty six senators, comprising four elected representatives from each of the fourteen districts of ancient Rome, and the first real senators since the seventh century, have elected as patrician Pierleoni, because the title of consul had long ago taken on noble connotations.

According to Gregorovius, Giordano was a "maverick" in the great Pierleoni family, for he continued to oppose the papacy after Anacletus' death, when the rest of his clan had returned to support of Rome.

Bernard of Clairvaux’s Crusade Against Heresy and the Rise of Eugenius III (1145 CE)

By 1145, Bernard of Clairvaux, the primary architect of the Cistercian monastic expansion, had spread his influence throughout Europe, founding new monasteries in Germany, Sweden, England, Ireland, Portugal, Switzerland, and Italy. His monastic movement was reshaping Christian spirituality and reinforcing papal authority through rigorous discipline and reformist zeal.

Bernard’s Influence in the Papacy: The Election of Eugenius III

• Several of Bernard’s monks had been sent to Rome at the command of Pope Innocent II, taking possession of Three Fountains Abbey in Rome, a center of monastic reform.
• One of these monks, Bernard of Pisa, was elected pope in 1145 as Eugenius III, marking Bernard’s deep influence in the Church’s highest office.
• Eugenius III, recognizing Bernard as his mentor, requested spiritual guidance from him.
• In response, Bernard wrote the "Book of Considerations," which emphasized:
  • The sanctity of the Pope as the foundation of Church reform.
  • The priority of piety and meditation over temporal matters.
  • The idea that spiritual reflection must precede action, reinforcing the Pope’s moral and religious responsibilities.

This work shaped Eugenius III’s papacy, setting a spiritual framework for papal governance in a turbulent time.

Bernard’s Campaign Against the Henricians and Petrobrusians (1145 CE)

• After previously helping end the papal schism, Bernard was now called upon to combat heresy, particularly against the Henricians and Petrobrusians.
• Henry of Lausanne, a former Cluniac monk, had adopted and modified the teachings of Peter of Bruys, who rejected:
  • Infant baptism
  • The veneration of saints
  • The Eucharist
  • Ecclesiastical authority
• Henry’s followers, known as Henricians, were especially numerous in southern France, where anti-clerical sentiment was rising.

Bernard’s Anti-Heresy Preaching Campaign

• At the insistence of Alberic, Cardinal Bishop of Ostia, Bernard embarked on a preaching tour through heretical strongholds:
  • Angoulême
  • Limoges
  • Bordeaux (where he stayed for some time)
  • Bergerac, Périgueux, Sarlat, Cahors, and Toulouse

Impact of Bernard’s Mission

• At Bernard’s approach, Henry of Lausanne fled from Toulouse, leaving behind a significant number of adherents.
• Many converts returned to Roman orthodoxy, particularly in Toulouse and Albi, due to Bernard’s:
  • Eloquent preaching
  • Reputation for miracles
  • Ascetic lifestyle and simplicity, which contrasted with the luxury of many prelates
• The Henrician and Petrobrusian sects began to decline rapidly, fading by the end of 1145.

Final Confrontation and Bernard’s Return to Clairvaux

• Bernard invited Henry of Lausanne to a disputation, which Henry refused to attend.
• With his mission accomplished, Bernard returned to Clairvaux, leaving a Church reinforced in its orthodoxybut still struggling with future waves of heretical movements, including the Cathars in later decades.

Legacy of Bernard’s 1145 Campaign

• Bernard’s combination of persuasive preaching, moral authority, and reported miracles made him one of the most effective anti-heretical figures of his time.
• His role in securing papal legitimacy through Eugenius III and his writings helped shape the moral vision of the papacy.
• His campaign against the Henricians and Petrobrusians set a precedent for future Church efforts to suppress heretical movements in medieval Europe.

Though Bernard’s personal efforts led to the decline of these particular sects, the underlying tensions between popular religious movements and the Catholic hierarchy would continue, leading to future conflicts such as the Cathar Crusade (1209–1229).

The Roman Senate, which had practically taken all temporal power from the Pope during the pontificate of Innocent II and which had been dissolved by Lucius II, has been resurrected, encouraged by Lucius’s defeat at the hands of Roger II of Sicily.

Pierleoni makes overtures of negotiations to Lucius—demanding the pope renounce secular authority and live as a common priest before being allowed reentry into the city.

The Pope, having called unsuccessfully for the help of Emperor Conrad III against the Senate and Pierleoni, finally marches against them with a small army.

This fight is lost also by Lucius, who, according to Godfrey of Viterbo, is seriously injured during this battle (by a thrown stone) and dies a few days later from his injuries on February 15, 1145.

His successor, a Pisan native named Bernardo dei Paganelli di Montemagno, a Cistercian monk and abbot at a monastery just outside Rome, assumes the papacy as Eugene III.

He owes his elevation partly to the fact that none are eager to accept an office the duties of which are at this time so difficult and dangerous, but chiefly to his being the friend and pupil of Bernard of Clairvaux, the most influential ecclesiastic of the Western Church, and a strong assertor of the pope's temporal authority.

The choice has not, however, the approval of Bernard, who remonstrates against the election on account of the "innocence and simplicity" of Eugene; but after the choice is made he takes advantage of the qualities in Eugene that he objects to, so as to virtually rule in his name.

The Pope has meanwhile appealed for help to Tivoli, and other cities at feud with Rome, and to Roger II of Sicily (who sends his general Robert of Selby), and with their aid is successful in making such conditions with the Roman citizens as enable him to hold the semblance of authority in his capital.