Who he was
Paschal was the son of a Roman named Bonosus and was trained in the Lateran from boyhood. Leo III made him abbot of St Stephen's monastery beside St Peter's, where he looked after pilgrims. He was elected unanimously the day after Stephen IV died and consecrated the next day.
What he is remembered for
He received from Louis the Pious the Pactum Ludovicianum confirming the rights and lands of the Holy See, and crowned Lothair emperor in 823. He rebuilt the churches of St Praxedis, St Cecilia and Santa Maria in Domnica, whose mosaics still survive, and gave a home in Rome to Greek monks driven out by the iconoclasts. He found the relics of St Cecilia and brought them to her church in Trastevere; his feast is kept on 14 May.
He is honoured by the Church as Saint. Read his page in the dictionary of saints.
Sources
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