Paschal II

Paschal II (born c. 1050, Bieda di Galeata, near Ravenna [Italy]—died Jan. 21, 1118, Rome) was the pope from 1099 to 1118.

He entered a monastery as a boy and was made cardinal by Pope St. Gregory VII about 1080. He was legate to Spain under Pope Urban II, whom he was elected to succeed on Aug. 13, 1099.

Although Paschal fostered the First Crusade and followed Gregory’s great policies of church reform, his pontificate was dominated by the Investiture Controversy—the long conflict between popes and secular rulers over control of ecclesiastical appointments. In 1107 settlements on the issue of lay investiture were made with kings Henry I of England and Philip I of France.

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Paschal’s struggles with the Holy Roman emperors Henry IV and Henry V, however, proved inconclusive. After unsuccessful negotiations in 1106, 1107, and 1110, he officially condemned Henry V, who invaded Italy. They met at Sutri, where Henry renounced the right to investiture, and Paschal agreed to have the German church return all lands and rights received from the crown—an agreement that, when promulgated at St. Peter’s in Rome on Feb. 12, 1111, caused a tumult among the German bishops. They felt deprived of power, and their protests killed the pact. A popular rising forced Henry to leave Rome temporarily, and he took Paschal as prisoner. After two months of harsh captivity, Paschal consented to Henry’s demands on royal investiture of bishops, and on April 13, 1111, he crowned Henry as Holy Roman emperor.

Strong opposition arose in the Curia against Paschal. A council declared invalid the privilege he had granted Henry, and, against his will, Archbishop Guido of Vienne excommunicated the emperor. Paschal finally revoked the privilege in 1112 and renewed his earlier condemnations of regal investiture in 1116. The problem remained unsolved until 1122, when Pope Calixtus II concluded the Concordat of Worms, which secured peace between the church and the empire.