Bienheureux Eugène III
Pape (165 ème) de 1145 à 1153 (✝ 1153)
D'abord moine cistercien à Clairvaux, puis au monastère des Saints Vincent et Anastase, à Tre Fontane, aux portes de Rome, il fut élu pape à une époque de pleine évolution politique. Il resta fidèle à son père spirituel,saint Bernardà qui il demanda de prêcher une croisade, qui d'ailleurs échoua. Nous trouvons Eugène III à Paris en 1147, à Trèves, et dans bien d'autres régions. Il intervient en Angleterre, réglemente l'Église d'Irlande, met sur pied l'organisation ecclésiastique de la Suède et de la Norvège, assure sa primauté devant l'empereur Frédéric Barberousse. Il vécut pauvrement, plein de bienveillance et de justice. Théologien, il fit traduire les homélies desaint Jean Chrysostome. Trois des cardinaux qu'il avait nommés devinrent papes : Adrien IV, Alexandre III et Victor IV. Très tôt le petit peuple romain le considéra comme un saint en raison de sa manière de vivre et de concevoir le rôle de la Papauté.
Voir aussi sur le site de l'Ordre cistercien de la Stricte Observance: leBienheureux Eugène III.
Saint Bernard écrivit pour lui le Traité «de Consideratione», où sont évoqués les devoirs du pontife. Jean de Salisbury le décrit comme 'une âme pleine de délicatesse et d’autorité, de grandeur et d’humilité'.
"Le diocèse donne alors à l'Église un grand pape,Calixte II(1119-1124), originaire de Quingey. Les abbayes nouvelles, surtout cisterciennes, se multiplient: elles seront les principaux foyers de résistance au schisme de Frédéric Barberousse; saintPierre de Tarentaise, défenseur de l'orthodoxie, mourra à Bellevaux en 1174, et le pape Eugène III, cistercien également, viendra en 1148 consacrer la cathédrale reconstruite sous le titre de saint Jean l'Évangéliste." (Histoire du diocèse de Besançon)
À Tivoli près de Rome, en 1153, le trépas du bienheureux Eugène III, pape. Disciple de saint Bernard et premier abbé du monastère cistercien des Saints Vincent et Anastase aux Eaux Salviennes (Saint-Paul aux Trois Fontaines), il fut élu au siège de Rome, alors que la ville était dans l’effervescence politique; il s’employa avec bonheur à défendre le peuple de la cité des incursions des infidèles et à améliorer la discipline ecclésiastique.
Martyrologe romain
Eugène III (1145)
Bernardo Paganelli di Montemagno, né à Pise, mort à Tivoli en 1153. Bienheureux.
Il parvint à mettre sur pied la deuxième croisade, mais celle-ci échoua.
Eugène III approuva le Souverain Ordre Militaire de Malte.
SOURCE : http://eglise.de.dieu.free.fr/liste_des_papes_11.htm
Universalis, « EUGÈNE III, BERNARDO PAGANELLI DI MONTEMAGNO (mort en 1153) pape (1145-1153) », Encyclopædia Universalis [en ligne], consulté le 13 juillet 2015. URL : http://www.universalis.fr/encyclopedie/eugene-iii-bernardo-paganelli-di-montemagno-pape/
EUGÈNE III,
BERNARDO PAGANELLI DI MONTEMAGNO (mort en 1153) pape (1145-1153)
Pape italien né près de Pise à une date inconnue et mort le 8 juillet 1153 à Tivoli, non loin de Rome. Bernardo Paganelli di Montemagno est un disciple de saint Bernard de Clairvau. Il est abbé du monastère cistercien de Saint-Vincent-et-Saint-Anastase à Rome (aujourd'hui l'abbayede Tre Fontane) lorsqu'il est élu pape le 15 février 1145, puis intronisé le 18 février sous le nom d'Eugène III. L'élection inhabituelle d'un ecclésiastique extérieur au conclave provoque une émeute populaire à Rome, obligeant le nouveau pontife à fuir la cité. En 1144, comme tant d'autres en Europe occidentale, c'est avec consternation qu'il apprend la chute du comté d'Édesse, capitale du premier royaume latin d'Orient fondé par les croisés, tombé aux mains des Turcs. Profitant de l'état d'anarchie qui règne à Rome, Arnaud de Brescia, le réformateur extrémiste italien qui s'oppose depuis toujours au pouvoir temporel de la papauté, entre dans la ville et contraint le pape à s'exiler au début de 1146. Alors qu'il est en France (1147), Eugène III presse le roi Louis VII le Jeune de mener une croisade pour la libération d'Édesse, et invite saint Bernard de Clairvauxà la prêcher. Cette deuxième croisade, impressionnante entre toutes par son ampleur, se soldera pourtant par un échec retentissant.
Rentré en Italie en juin 1148, Eugène III excommunie Arnaud de Brescia en juillet de la même année au motif que celui-ci avait dénoncé le pape comme étant « un homme de sang » et fomenté la révolte contre la papauté. Siégeant hors de Rome pendant la plus grande partie de son pontificat à cause de l'hostilité du nouveau sénat restauré au Capitole, Eugène III tient de nombreux conciles régionaux. En 1153, il signe le traité de Constance avec Frédéric Ier Barberousse, successeur de Conrad III sur le trône du Saint Empire romain germanique, fixant les conditions du couronnement à Rome de celui-ci. Le pape mourra avant que Frédéric ait pu se rendre en Italie. Il sera béatifié le 3 octobre 1872.
Universalis, « EUGÈNE III, BERNARDO PAGANELLI DI MONTEMAGNO (mort en 1153) pape (1145-1153) », Encyclopædia Universalis [en ligne], consulté le 13 juillet 2015. URL : http://www.universalis.fr/encyclopedie/eugene-iii-bernardo-paganelli-di-montemagno-pape/
Blessed Eugene III, OSB Cist. Pope (RM)
Born at Montemagno, between Lucca and Pisa, Italy; died at Tivoli, July 8, 1153; cultus approved 1872. Pietro Paganelli became a canon at the Pisa cathedral and an official in the ecclesiastical curia of Pisa. After meeting Saint Bernard joined the Cistercians at Clairvaux in 1135, taking the name Bernard. His namesake professed him. He became abbot of Saint Athanasius (then Tre Fontane) in Rome and was unexpectedly elected pope on February 15, 1145, taking the name Eugene.
Forced to flee the city when he refused to recognize the sovereignty of the Roman Senate and Arnold of Brescia, heading the opposition to his election, seized temporal power, he was secretly consecrated at Farfa Abbey on February 18. Eugene moved to Viterbo and then returned to Rome under a truce, which the rebels immediately broke, pillaging churches and turning Saint Peter's into an armory.
At the invitation of King Louis VII, he went to France in 1147 and proclaimed the Second Crusade, which ended in failure, despite the efforts of Saint Bernard, who preached it, when the armies of King Louis VII and Emperor Conrad II of Germany were defeated.
Eugene held synods at Paris and Trier in 1147 and the following year at Rheims, where he condemned Gilbert de la Porree, and at Cremona, where he excommunicated Arnold and threatened to use force against the Roman rebels. Terms were arranged and Eugene returned to Rome in 1149 but was again forced to leave the following year.
He took up residence at Tivoli, concluded the Treaty of Constance in 1153 with Emperor Frederick I, guaranteeing the rights of the Church. Eugene labored throughout a tumultuous pontificate to reunite the Eastern churches to Rome, to reform clerical conduct and discipline, removed unworthy clergymen (among them the archbishops of Mainz and York), fought the recurrence of Manichaeism, was known for his courage and simplicity, and lived according to the spiritual counsels of Saint Bernard, who wrote De consideratione for his guidance.
Saint Antoninus fittingly called him "one of the greatest and one of the most afflicted of popes" (Benedictines, Delaney).
SOURCE : http://www.saintpatrickdc.org/ss/0708.shtml
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Pope Blessed Eugene III
Bernardo Pignatelli, born in the neighbourhood of Pisa, elected15 Feb., 1145; d. at Tivoli, 8 July, 1153. On the very day that Pope Lucius II succumbed, either to illness or wounds, the Sacred College, foreseeing that the Romanpopulace would make a determined effort to force the new pontiffto abdicate his temporal power and swear allegiance to the Senatus Populusque Romanus,hastily buried the deceased pope in the Lateranand withdrew to the remote cloister of St. Cæsariuson the Appian Way. Here, for reasons unascertained, they sought a candidate outside their body, and unanimously chose the Cistercianmonk, Bernardof Pisa, abbot of the monastery of Tre Fontane, on the site of St. Paul'smartyrdom. He was enthroned as Eugene III without delay in St. JohnLateran, and since residence in the rebellious city was impossible, the pope and his cardinals fled to the country. Their rendezvous was the monastery of Farfa, where Eugenereceived the episcopalconsecration. The city of Viterbo, the hospitable refuge of so many of the afflicted medievalpopes, opened its gates to welcome him; and thither he proceeded to await developments. Though powerless in face of the Romanmob, he was assured by embassies from all the European powers that he possessed the sympathy and affectionate homage of the entire Christian world.
Sources
Loughlin, James."Pope Blessed Eugene III."The Catholic Encyclopedia.Vol. 5.New York: Robert Appleton Company,1909.12 Jul. 2015<http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/05599a.htm>.
SOURCE : http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/05599a.htm
Blessed Pope Eugene III
SOURCE : http://catholicsaints.info/blessed-pope-eugene-iii/
Excerpted from "Popes Through the Ages" by Joseph Brusher, S.J.
Pope Blessed Eugene III
Bernardo Pignatelli, born in the neighbourhood of Pisa, elected15 Feb., 1145; d. at Tivoli, 8 July, 1153. On the very day that Pope Lucius II succumbed, either to illness or wounds, the Sacred College, foreseeing that the Romanpopulace would make a determined effort to force the new pontiffto abdicate his temporal power and swear allegiance to the Senatus Populusque Romanus,hastily buried the deceased pope in the Lateranand withdrew to the remote cloister of St. Cæsariuson the Appian Way. Here, for reasons unascertained, they sought a candidate outside their body, and unanimously chose the Cistercianmonk, Bernardof Pisa, abbot of the monastery of Tre Fontane, on the site of St. Paul'smartyrdom. He was enthroned as Eugene III without delay in St. JohnLateran, and since residence in the rebellious city was impossible, the pope and his cardinals fled to the country. Their rendezvous was the monastery of Farfa, where Eugenereceived the episcopalconsecration. The city of Viterbo, the hospitable refuge of so many of the afflicted medievalpopes, opened its gates to welcome him; and thither he proceeded to await developments. Though powerless in face of the Romanmob, he was assured by embassies from all the European powers that he possessed the sympathy and affectionate homage of the entire Christian world.
Concerning the parentage, birth-place, and even the original name of Eugene, each of his biographers has advanced a different opinion. All that can be affirmedas certain is that he was of the noble family of Pignatelli, and whether he received the name of Bernardo in baptism or only upon entering religion, must remain uncertain. He was educated in Pisa, and after his ordination was made a canonof the cathedral. Later he held the office of vice-dominus or steward of the temporalities of the diocese. In 1130 he came under the magnetic influence of St. Bernard of Clairvaux; five years later when the saint returned home from the Synodof Pisa, the vice dominus accompanied him as a novice. In course of time he was employed by his order on several important affiars; and lastly was sent with a colony of monks to repeople the ancient Abbey of Farfa; but Innocent II placed them instead at the Tre Fontane.
St. Bernardreceived the intelligence of the elevation of his disciple with astonishment and pleasure, and gave expression to his feelings in a paternal letter addressed to the new pope, in which occurs the famous passage so often quoted by reformers, true and false: "Who willgrant me to see, before I die, the Church of God as in the days of old when the Apostleslet down their nets for a draught, not of silver and gold, but of souls?" The saint, moreover, proceeded to compose in his few moments of leisure that admirable handbook for popes called "De Consideratione". Whilst Eugene sojourned at Viterbo, Arnold of Brescia, who had been condemned by the Councilof 1139 to exile from Italy, ventured to return at the beginning of the new pontificate and threw himself on the clemency of the pope. Believing in the sincerity of his repentance, Eugeneabsolvedhim and enjoined on him as penancefasting and a visit to the tombs of the Apostles. If the veteran demagogue entered Rome in a penitentialmood, the sight of democracybased on his own principles soon caused him to revert to his former self. He placed himself at the head of the movement, and his incendiary philippicsagainst the bishops, cardinals, and even the asceticpontiff who treated him with extreme lenity, worked his hearers into such fury that Rome resembled a city captured by barbarians. The palaces of the cardinals and of such of the nobility as held with the pope were razed to the ground; churchesand monasteries were pillaged; St. Peter's church was turned into an arsenal; and piouspilgrims were plundered and maltreated.
But the storm was too violent to last. Only an idiot could fail to understand that medievalRome without he pope had no means of subsistence. A strong party was formed in Rome and the vicinity consisting of the principal families and their adherents, in the interests of order and the papacy, and the democrats were induced to listen to words of moderation. A treaty was entered into with Eugeneby which the Senate was preserved but subject to the papal sovereignty and swearingallegiance to the supreme pontiff. The senators were to be chosen annually by popular election and in a committee of their body the executive power was lodged. The pope and the senate should have separate courts, and an appeal could be made from the decisions of either court to the other. By virtue of this treaty Eugenemade a solemn entry into Rome a few days before Christmas, and was greeted by the fickle populace with boundless enthusiasm. But the dual system of government proved unworkable. The Romansdemanded the destruction of Tivoli. This town had been faithfulto Eugene during the rebellion of the Romans and meritedhis protection. He therefore refused to permit it to be destroyed. The Romansgrowing more and more turbulent, he retired to Castel S. Angelo, thence to Viterbo, and finally crossed the Alps, early in 1146.
Problems lay before the popeof vastly greater importance than the maintenance of order in Rome. The Christian principalities in Palestine and Syria were threatened with extinction. The fall of Edessa (1144) had aroused consternation throughout the West, and already from ViterboEugenehad addressed a stirring appealto the chivalry of Europe to hasten to the defence of the Holy Places. St. Bernard was commissioned to preach the Second Crusade, and he acquitted himself of the task with such success that within a couple of years two magnificent armies, commanded by the King of the Romansand the King of France, were on their way to Palestine. That the Second Crusade was a wretched failure cannot be ascribed to the saint or the pope; but it is one of those phenomena so frequently met with in the historyof the papacy, that a pope who was made to subdue a handful of rebellious subjects could hurl all Europe against the Saracens. Eugenespent three busy and fruitful years in France, intenton the propagation of the Faith, the correction of errors and abuses, and the maintenance of discipline. He sent Cardinal Breakspear (afterwards Adrian IV) as legate to Scandinavia; he entered into relationswith the Orientals with a view to reunion; he proceeded with vigour against the nascent Manichean heresies. In several synods (Paris, 1147, Trier, 1148), notably in the great Synod of Reims (1148), canonswere enacted regarding the dress and conduct of the clergy. To ensure the strict executionof these canons, the bishops who should neglect to enforce them were threatened with suspension. Eugenewas inexorable in punishing the unworthy. He deposedthe metropolitans of Yorkand Mainz, and he for a causewhich St. Bernard thought not sufficiently grave, he withdrew the pallium from the Archbishop of Reims. But if the saintlypontiff could at times be severe, this was not his naturaldisposition.
"Never", wrote Ven. Peter of Clunyto St. Bernard, "have I found a truer friend, a sincerer brother, a purer father. His ear is ever ready to hear, his tongue is swift and mighty to advise. Nor does he comport himself as one's superior, but rather as an equal or an inferior… I have never made him a request which he has not either granted, or so refused that I could not reasonably complain." On the occasion of a visit which he paid to Clairvaux, his former companions discovered to their joy that "he who externally shone in the pontificalrobes remained in his heart an observant monk".
The prolonged sojourn of the pope in France was of great advantage to the FrenchChurch in many ways and enhanced the prestige of the papacy. Eugenealso encouraged the new intellectual movement to which Peter Lombard had given a strong impulse. With the aid of Cardinal Pullus, his chancellor, who had established the University of Oxford on a lasting basis, he reduced the schools of theology and philosophyto better form. He encouraged Gratianin his herculean task of arranging the Decretals, and we owe to him various useful regulations bearing on academic degrees. In the spring of 1148, the pope returned by easy stages to Italy. On 7 July, he met the Italianbishops at Cremona, promulgated the canonsof Reims for Italy, and solemnlyexcommunicatedArnold of Brescia, who still reigned over the Romanmob. Eugene, having brought with him considerable financial aid, began to gather his vassals and advanced to Viterbo and thence to Tusculum. Here he was visited by King Louisof France, whom he reconciled to his queen, Eleanor. With the assistance of Roger of Sicily, he forced his way into Rome (1149), and celebrated Christmas in the Lateran. His stay was not of long duration. During the next three years the Romancourt wandered in exile through the Campagna while both sides looked for the intervention of Conrad of Germany, offeringhim the imperial crown. Arousedby the earnest exhortations of St. Bernard, Conrad finally decided to descend into Italy and put an end to the anarchy in Rome. Death overtook him in the midst of his preparations on 15 Feb., 1152, leaving the task to his more energetic nephew, Frederick Barbarossa. The envoys of Eugenehaving concluded with Frederickat Constance, in the spring of 1153, a treaty favourable to the interests of the Church and the empire, the more moderate of the Romans, seeing that the days of democracywere numbered, joined with the nobles in putting down the Arnoldists, and the pontiff was enabled to spend his concluding days in peace.
Eugene is said to have gained the affection of the people by his affability and generosity. He died at Tivoli, whither he had gone to avoid the summer heats, and was buried in front of the high altar in St. Peters, Rome. St. Bernardfollowed him to the grave (20 Aug.). "The unassuming but astute pupil of St. Bernard", says Gregorovius, "had always continued to wear the coarse habit of Clairvauxbeneath the purple; the stoic virtuesof monasticism accompanied him through his stormy career, and invested him with that power of passive resistance which has always remained the most effectual weapon of the popes."St. Antoninus pronounces Eugene III "one of the greatest and most afflicted of the popes". Pius IX by a decreedof 28 Dec., 1872, approved the cult which from time immemorial the Pisans have rendered to their countryman, and ordered him to be honoured with Mass and Officeritu duplicion the anniversary of his death.
Sources
For the earlier lives by BOSO, JOHN OF SALISBURY, BERNHARD GUIDONIS, and AMALRICUS AUGERII see MURATORI, SS. Rer. Ital., III, 439 sqq. Cf. Lib. Pont., ed DUCHESNE, II, 386; HEFELE, Conciliengesch., v, 494; his letters are in P.L., CLXXX, 1009 sqq. (JAFFÉ, II, 20 sqq.). See also SAINATI, Vita de beato Eugenio III (Monza, 1874); Annal. Bolland. (1891), X, 455; and histories of the city of Rome by VON REUMONT and GREGOROVIUS.
SOURCE : http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/05599a.htm
Blessed Pope Eugene III
Also known as
- Peter dei Paganelli di Montemagno
- Bernard of Pisa
- Bernardo Pignatelli
Profile
Prominent Cistercianmonk. Friend of SaintBernard of Clairvaux. Abbotof the monastery of Tre Fontaine. Elected pope unanimously on day of his predecessor’s funeral; the cardinalswanted a quick election to prevent the interference of secular authorities. Promoted the disastrous Second Crusade. In 1146, the agitation of Arnold of Brescia and the republicans drove the pope from Rome. While in exile from 1146 to 1149 and again from 1150 to 1152, Eugene worked to reform clerical discipline.
Born
Papal Ascension
SOURCE : http://catholicsaints.info/blessed-pope-eugene-iii/
After the death of Lucius the cardinals withdrew to the Monastery of St. Caesarius where, protected by Frangipani swords, they could elect a pope in peace. The election was speedy and surprising.
Quickly the cardinals chose, not one of their own number, but Bernard, the Cistercian abbot of St. Anastasius. He took the name Eugene III. Bernard Paganelli was born in Pisa. He was a canon of the cathedral there and a high official when he met St. Bernard. This meant a radical change. He resigned his high offices to follow St. Bernard, that spiritual pied piper, into a Cistercian monastery. When Innocent II asked St. Bernard to send Cistercians to Rome, it was Bernard Paganelli who led the monks to St. Anastasius. There he attracted many vocations and the monastery was flourishing when Bernard was elected pope.
Eugene was a man of real holiness, humble, kindly, and cheerful. If he was severe, he was severe on principle as when he deposed the archbishops of Mainz and York. He accomplished much for the church. He might have done more if he had not been so troubled by the perennial Roman problem. Eugene had to go to Farfa to be consecrated in peace. But soon, tired of the excesses of Jordan, the Patrician, the Romans welcomed the Pope back and agreed to a compromise. The office of Patrician was abolished. The senate was to remain but to acknowledge the lordship of the Pope. This did not work well and soon the disgusted Pope once more left the city. The fall of Edessa. a bastion of the crusader kingdom, had alarmed Europe. Eugene proclaimed the second crusade. St. Bernard preached it. Louis VII of France and Emperor Conrad III were its leaders. Weak leaders they proved to be. The Germans were cut up in Asia Minor, the French butchered in a mountain defile. Louis and Conrad reached Jerusalem indeed, but rather as pilgrims than war leaders. The crusade which had begun in hope ended in disillusionment. So keenly did Eugene feel this that he left France.
The Pope was active in promoting the spiritual welfare of the church. He received an embassy from the Catholic Armenians and sent those good people a letter of instruction. He arranged discussions with the Greeks. He held a council at Rheims at which the Trinitarian vagaries of Gilbert de la Porree were condemned. On the other hand the pope approved of the visions of the holy mystic Hildegarde. Though he had actually been guardian of France during the crusade, Eugene could not control his own city. Arnold of Brescia, whom the pope had once pardoned, was now the idol of the factious Romans. Diplomacy and a show of force enabled Eugene to enter Rome once more in 1149, but he had so hard a time keeping order that he appealed to Conrad to come down and settle matters. The Emperor died before he could do so. His nephew and successor agreed to come into Italy. He was to come many times and the popes would not be pleased. Conrad's successor was Frederick Barbarossa. Blessed Eugene died at Tivoli July 8, 1153. He was buried in St. Peter's with great marks of veneration.
Excerpted from "Popes Through the Ages" by Joseph Brusher, S.J.