Chronology Of Templar Era Popes

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.