Pope Nicholas III


Nicholas III
Bishop of Rome
13th century fresco in the Sancta Sanctorum (Lateran, Rome) depicting Nicholas III offering the church to Christ
ChurchCatholic Church
Papacy began25 November 1277
Papacy ended22 August 1280
PredecessorJohn XXI
SuccessorMartin IV
Previous post(s)
Orders
Created cardinal28 May 1244
by Innocent IV
Personal details
Born
Giovanni Gaetano Orsini

c. 1225
Died22 August 1280(1280-08-22) (aged 54–55)
Viterbo, Papal States
Coat of armsNicholas III's coat of arms
Other popes named Nicholas
Ordination history of
Pope Nicholas III
History
Cardinalate
Elevated byPope Innocent IV
Date28 May 1244
Episcopal succession
Bishops consecrated by Pope Nicholas III as principal consecrator
Thrugot Thorstensen27 December 1277
Willem van Moerbeke, O.P.9 April 1278
John Peckham, O.F.M.19 February 1279
Heinrich Fleming21 March 1279
William Wickwane17 September 1279
Nicholas Cusack, O.F.M.15 May 1280
William Fraser19 May 1280
Fernando Covarrubias, O.F.M.Sometime between 21 May 1280 to 22 August 1280

Pope Nicholas III (Latin: Nicolaus III; c. 1225 – 22 August 1280), born Giovanni Gaetano Orsini,[1] was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 25 November 1277 to his death on 22 August 1280.

He was a Roman nobleman who had served under eight popes, been made Cardinal-Deacon of St. Nicola in Carcere Tulliano by Pope Innocent IV (1243–54), protector of the Franciscans by Pope Alexander IV (1254–61), inquisitor-general by Pope Urban IV (1261–64), and succeeded Pope John XXI (1276–77) after a six-month vacancy in the Holy See resolved in the papal election of 1277,[2] largely through family influence.

  1. ^ George L. Williams, Papal Genealogy: The Families and Descendants of the Popes, (McFarland & Company Inc., 1998), 36. Richard Sternfeld, Der Kardinal Johann Gaëtan Orsini, in a separate Excursus I, pp. 315–316, argues for a date of birth around 1216. He points out that one must take into account that Giovanni Gaetano's mother was a first wife.
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference EB1911 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).