Pope Innocent IV

Pope Innocent IV (; c. 1195 – December 7, 1254), born Sinibaldo Fieschi, was an Italian cleric of the Roman Catholic Church and the 181st Pope from June 25, 1243 until his death in 1254. "List of Popes,"  Catholic Encyclopedia (2009); retrieved 2011-11-22.

Early life
Fieschi was born in Genoa. "Pope Innocent IV", Catholic Encyclopedia; retrieved 2011-11-22.  The Fieschi were a noble family of Liguria.

His nephew will become Adrian V. "Pope Adrian V", Catholic Encyclopedia; retrieved 2011-11-22.

He studied at the universities of Parma and Bologna.

Cardinal
Pope Gregory IX made Fieschi a cardinal on September 18, 1227.

Pope
Cardinal Fieschi was elected pope on June 25, 1243.  He chose the name Innocent IV. Ottobuono Fieschi was the pope's cardinal-nephew during this reign.

Pope Innocent was involved in Italian and European political disputes.  The central problem of his papacy was a conflict with Frederick II, who was the Holy Roman Emperor.

In 1245, Pope Innocent called church leaders to the Council of Lyons in France.

Innocent granted the use of the red hat to the cardinals in 1245. The red had was a symbol of the cardinal's readiness to shed their blood in the cause of the church.

Related pages
 List of popes
 List of popes from the Fieschi family

References

 Other websites 


  Catholic Hierarchy,  Popes in sequence
  Cardinals of the Holy Roman Church , Cardinal Fieschi 

Category:Italian popes
Category:1190s births
Category:1254 deaths