Pope Innocent III

Who was Pope Innocent III?

Pope Innocent III was the head of the Roman Catholic Church from 8 January 1198 to his death in 1216. His birth name was Lotario dei Conti di Segni, sometimes anglicised to Lothar of Segni.

Pope Innocent was one of the most powerful and influential popes. He exerted a wide influence over the Christian regimes of Europe, claiming supremacy over all of Europe's kings. Pope Innocent was central in supporting the Catholic Church's reforms of ecclesiastical affairs through his decretals and the Fourth Lateran Council. This resulted in a considerable refinement of Western canon law. Pope Innocent is notable for using interdict and other censures to compel princes to obey his decisions, although these measures were not uniformly successful. Innocent called for Christian crusades against Muslim rulers in Spain and the Holy Land and against heretics in southern France. One of Pope Innocent's most critical decisions was organizing the Fourth Crusade. Originally intended to attack Jerusalem through Egypt, a series of unforeseen circumstances led the crusaders to Constantinople, where they ultimately attacked and sacked the city. Innocent reluctantly accepted this result, seeing it as the will of God to reunite the Greek and Latin churches, but it poisoned relations between the two churches.