Born
c. 1106
Birthplace
Rome
Pope from
30 March 1191
Pope until
8 January 1198
Died
8 January 1198
Who he was
Giacinto Bobone, the first of the Roman Orsini to become pope, had been a cardinal for forty-seven years when he was elected in March 1191, at about eighty-five. Still only a deacon, he was ordained priest and bishop at Easter and crowned Henry VI emperor the following day.
What he is remembered for
His reign was overshadowed by Henry VI, who held King Richard the Lionheart for ransom and seized Sicily; in 1193 Celestine excommunicated Duke Leopold of Austria over Richard's imprisonment. He upheld the Church's marriage laws against the kings of León and France, confirmed the Teutonic Knights, and canonised St Malachy of Armagh, St John Gualbert and St Ubaldus of Gubbio.
Sources
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