
In the two centuries between the First Crusade and the execution of Jacques de Molay there were 37 men who held the keys of St. Peter and wore the crown of Pope.
Some of these men like Honarius II and Eugene III would prove to be great allies to the Templar Order, while others such as the infamous Clement V would prove to be opposed to them.
The Templars were not responsible to any secular or ecclesiastical authority other than the Pope himself. Below you will find a chronological list of all the Popes from Urban II who launched the First Crusade, over two decades prior to the Templars, to the aforementioned Clement V who would co-author the downfall of the mighty order in the years between 1307 and 1314.
Pope Urban II (1088 – 1099)
Pope Urban II was responsible for the launching of the First Crusade.
1099 – 1118 PASCHAL II
1118 – 1119 GELASIUS II
1119 – 1124 CALLISTUS II
Pope Honorius II (1124 – 1130)
Pope Honorius II sanctioned the Templars as an Order on 13 January, 1128.
Pope Innocent II (1130 – 1143)
Pope Innocent II granted the Templars special priveleges through the bull Omni Datum Optimum.
1143 – 1144 CELESTINE II
1144 – 1145 LUCIUS II
Pope Eugenius III (1145 – 1153)
Pope Eugenius III granted the Templars the right to wear the red cross on their garments around the time of the Second Crusade.
1153 – 1154 ANASTASIUS IV
1154 – 1159 ADRIAN IV
1159 – 1181 ALEXANDER III
1181 – 1185 LUCIUS III
1185 – 1187 URBAN III
1187 – 1187 GREGORY VIII
1187 – 1191 CLEMENT III
1191 – 1198 CELESTINE III
1198 – 1216 INNOCENT III
1216 – 1227 HONORIUS III
1227 – 1241 GREGORY IX
1241 – 1241 CELESTINE IV
1243 – 1254 INNOCENT IV
1254 – 1261 ALEXANDER IV
1261 – 1264 URBAN IV
1265 – 1268 CLEMENT IV
1271 – 1276 GREGORY X
1276 – 1276 INNOCENT V
1276 – 1276 ADRIAN V
1276 – 1277 JOHN XXI
1277 – 1280 NICHOLAS III
1281 – 1285 MARTIN IV
1285 – 1287 HONORIUS IV
1288 – 1292 NICHOLAS IV
1294 – 1294 ST. CELESTINE V
Pope Boniface VIII 1294 – 1303
Pope Boniface VIII was the author of the bull Unum Sanctum, which ran him up against the ire of Philip IV.
1303 – 1304 BENEDICT XI
Pope Clement V 1088 – 1099
Pope Clement V was responsible, in part, for the destruction of the Knights Templar.
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