Innocent IV

Full Name: Pope Innocent IV, born Sinibaldo Fieschi
Profession: Pope

Nationality:

Biography: Pope Innocent IV is best known for his assertions of papal authority over secular rulers and for authorizing the use of torture against suspected heretics.

Born Sinibaldo Fieschi around 1195 in Genoa, he studied canon law before rising through the ranks of the Church hierarchy. Pope Gregory IX made him a cardinal in 1227 and he later served as papal governor of Ancona starting in 1235.

Elected pope in 1243, Innocent IV clashed with Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II over control of papal lands in Italy. At the First Council of Lyon in 1245, Innocent deposed and excommunicated Frederick, forcing the pope to temporarily flee to France for safety. Innocent appointed Afonso III as ruler of Portugal and authorized the Teutonic Order to lead crusades in Prussia, further extending the reach of the papacy.

In the 1252 papal bull Ad extirpanda, Innocent IV sanctioned the Inquisition's use of torture to extract confessions from accused heretics. He also engaged in diplomatic outreach to the Mongol Empire, exchanging letters with Mongol khans and dispatching papal envoys like Giovanni da Pian del Carpine in 1245.

After Emperor Frederick II's death in 1250, Innocent sought to bring Sicily under papal control. He backed Henry III of England's son Edmund for the Sicilian throne against Frederick's illegitimate son Manfred. Leading papal armies against Manfred's forces, Innocent fell ill and died in Naples without succeeding in his attempts to secure Sicily.

Birthplace: Genoa or Manarola, Republic of Genoa

Died: December 7, 1254