Paschal I (Pope)

Paschal I on a mosaic in the Basilica of Santa Prassede, 9th century

Paschal I (* Easter in Rome ; † February 11, 824 ibid) was Pope from 817 to 824 as the successor of Stephen IV.

Paschalis was Abbot of St. Stephen in Rome when he was elected Pope on January 25, 817. He received from Emperor Louis the Pious negotiated already with its predecessor guarantee the independence of the Papal States and the free papal elections .

Paschalis tried to cooperate with the Western Empire and anointed Lothar I as emperor in 823 . Soon afterwards, however, Lothar tried to bind the papacy and the papal state more closely to the empire. Paschalis in turn tried to influence the Frankish imperial church and to consolidate his position in Rome. He was also one of the main promoters of missionary work in Northern Europe. He was also culturally active and took care of the founding and restoration of Roman churches, some of which were decorated with mosaics in the late antique tradition.

In Rome he was unpopular because of his strict administration, in 824 riots broke out in Rome. After his death he was buried in the church of Santa Prassede , which he had rebuilt , because the people were entombing an entombment in Alt-St. Peter prevented. His successor Eugenius II had the bones transferred to a chapel in the Vatican basilica . It is possible that he had the Zenon Chapel built in the Basilica of Santa Prassede as a burial place for his mother Teodora Episcopa .

The feast of the canonized Paschal is on May 14th. Catholic Memorial Day is February 11th.

literature

• Caroline J. Goodson: The Rome of Pope Paschal I . Cambridge University Press, Cambridge 2010.

Web links

Commons : Paschalis I.  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

• Entry in the Catholic Encyclopedia , Robert Appleton Company, New York 1913.
• Complete works of Migne Patrologia Latina with table of contents

predecessor	Office	successor
Stephan IV.	Pope 817-824	Eugene II.