CELESTINE II

original name Guido Di Citt Di Castello, or Guido De Castellis born , Citt di Castello, Umbria, or Macerata, Ancona died March 8, 1144 pope from 1143 to 1144. A scholar of noble birth, he studied under Peter Ablard, with whom he remained on friendly terms even after Ablard's condemnation at the Council of Sens (1140). He was made cardinal deacon in 1127 by Pope Honorius II and cardinal priest (c. 1134) by Pope Innocent II, whom he was elected to succeed on Sept. 26, 1143. As pope (consecrated October 3), Celestine immediately removed Innocent's interdict against King Louis VII of France. He died on the verge of a controversy with King Roger II of Sicily regarding Roger's prerogatives as apostolic legate.