EUGENIUS III, Pope. - In the world Pietro Bernardo, b. in the environs of Pisa, d. at Tivoli on 8 July 1153. He was a canon of the cathedral of his city and then, at Clairvaux, a monk and disciple of St. Bernard, whence he passed as abbot to the monastery of Sts. Vincent and Anastasius in Rome. On the death of Lucius II he was unanimously elected pope on 15 Feb. 1145, but because of the opposition of the Senate he had to flee to Farfa, where he was consecrated on the 18th of the same month. Of a gentle disposition, he had to face the popular uprisings stirred up by Arnold of Brescia, who inflamed the Romans for the restoration of the Republic. His first thought was to return to Rome.
From Viterbo, where he had taken refuge after the consecration, with the help of the nobles, of the countryside and of the city of Tivoli he succeeded in reaching an agreement with the people, maintaining the Senate and the prefect in the city, and at Christmas of 1145 he entered Rome, welcomed in triumph. The civic discords, however, began again, and E. in March 1146 was once more forced to leave; passing through Sutri, Viterbo and Lombardy, he took refuge in France. During his absence Arnold, who had already once obtained pardon, began again to stir up the people against the pontifical authority; the Republic was proclaimed, while the houses of the nobles and of the cardinals and the churches were plundered. In France E. presided over several synods, dealing with ecclesiastical reform; he condemned the errors of Gilbert de la Porrée and of Sudo of Sicily and promoted the second Crusade, whose preaching was entrusted to St. Bernard. Toward the end of 1149, with the support of Roger II king of Sicily, he was able to return to Rome, but had to leave it again in May 1150, wandering through the cities of Latium. Strong in the powerful protection of Roger, he sought to draw close to Conrad III of Germany, who was preparing an expedition into Italy, but the latter's death prevented any agreement. In Dec. 1152 E. was able to return to Rome, still troubled by the machinations of Arnold, and in March 1153 he concluded a treaty with Frederick Barbarossa, by which the emperor undertook to re-establish the pontifical authority in Rome, while E. promised him the imperial crown. E., however, died shortly afterward. He was buried in St. Peter's. Although living in difficult times, he always cultivated the religious virtues, drawing admirable strength of resistance from the teachings of his master St. Bernard, who had dedicated to him the work De consideratione, proposing to him the methods to be followed in the government of the Church. In 1872 Pius IX approved his cult as blessed.
Bibliography5 works
Agostino Amore
