Pope Innocent III (Latin: Innocentius Tertius; 1160 or 1161 – 16 July 1216) was an Italian priest of the Roman Catholic Church and the 177thPope from 1198 until his death in 1216.[1]
Lotario di Conti was born at Anagni[2] in central Italy. His father was Count Trasimund of Segni[3] who was a member of the Conti family.
During the short reigns of Pope Lucius III, Pope Urban III, Pope Gregory VIII, and Pope Clement III, he served in the church bureaucracy.[3]
In 1190, Clement III raised him to the rank of Cardinal.[3]
Cardinal Segni was unanimously elected pope on January 8, 1198; and he took the name of Innocent III.[4]
Pope Innocent was involved in Italian and European political disputes.[3]
Pope Innocent promoted the theory that the spiritual power of the church was greater than than any king or emperor.[5] Innocent was the first pope to form a Papal state.[6]
Innocent III was responsible for starting the Fourth Crusade, the Albigensian Crusade, and the Fifth Crusade.[7]
In 1215, Innocent brought together the church's bishops and cardinals in a meeting called the Fourth Lateran Council.[3]
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