Saint Paschal I

Pope Paschal I (Latin: Paschalis I; died 824) was the bishop of Rome and ruler of the Papal States from 25 January 817 to his death in 824. Paschal was a member of an aristocratic Roman family. Before his election to the papacy, he was abbot of St. Stephen's monastery, which served pilgrims. In Rome in 823 he crowned Lothair I as Holy Roman Emperor. He rebuilt a number of churches in Rome, including three basilicas. According to the Liber Pontificalis, Paschal was a native of Lazio Rome born Pascale Massimi and son of Bonosus and Episcopa Theodora. The Liber Censuum says that Paschal was from the Massimi branch of the Massimo family, as was his predecessor, Stephen IV. Pope Leo III placed Paschal in charge of the monastery of St Stephen of the Abyssinians, where his responsibilities included the care of pilgrims visiting Rome. According to early modern accounts, Leo III may have elevated Paschal as the cardinal priest of Santa Prassede. Goodson attributes this account to a "desire to explain the attention that the pope so lavishly and prominently paid to that church later in his career." Paschal became pope on 25 January 817, just one day after the sudden death of Stephen IV. This decision was made without the sanction of Emperor Louis the Pious. Paschal began his pontificate apologizing for this slight, stressing that the office had been thrust upon him. He claimed that the decision had been made to avoid factional strife in Rome. According to the Liber Pontificalis, Pope Paschal's legate Theodore returned with a document titled Pactum cum Paschali pontifice, in which the emperor congratulated Paschal, recognized his sovereignty over the Papal States, and guaranteed the free election of future pontiffs. This document has since been challenged by historians as a forgery.