Antipope Anacletus II

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Anacletus II, born Pietro Pierleoni, (d. January 25, 1138) was an Antipope who ruled from 1131 to his death, in a schism against the contested hasty election of Pope Innocent II.

Pietro, of Jewish descent, was born to the powerful Roman family of the Pierleoni, the son of the Consul Pier Leoni. As a second son with ambitions he was destined for the Church. He studied in Paris and entered the Benedictine Abbey of Cluny. Later he went to Rome and occupied several important positions. In 1130, Pope Honorius II lay dying and the cardinals decided that they would entrust the election to a commission of eight men, led by papal chancellor Haimeric, who had his candidate Cardinal Gregory Papareschi hastily elected as Pope Innocent II. He was consecrated on Febraury 14, the day after Honorius' death. The other cardinals announced that Innocent had not been canonically elected and chose Cardinal Pietro Pierleoni, a Roman whose family were the enemy of Haimeric's supporters the Frangipani. Anacletus' supporters were a mixture of anyone opposed to Haimeric making him powerful enough to take control of Rome while Innocent was forced to flee North; legally speaking Anacletus was the canonically elected Pope and Innocent was the anti-Pope.

However North of the Alps Innocent gained the crucial support of St. Bernard of Clairvaux, Peter the Venerable, and other prominent reformers who personally helped him to gain recognition from European rulers such as Lothar II, Holy Roman Emperor, leaving Anacletus with few patrons. Anacletus had been a relatively acceptable candidate for the Papacy, being well-respected, so rumors centring on his descent from a Jewish convert were spread to blacken his reputation. Among Anacletus' supporters were duke William X of Aquitaine, who decided for Anacletus against the will of his own bishops, and the powerful Roger II of Sicily, whose title of "King of Sicily" Anacletus had approved shortly after his accession. By 1135 Anacletus' position was weak despite their aid, but the schism only ended with his death in 1138, after which Innocent returned to Rome and ruled without opposition. Innocent II quickly convened the Second Lateran Council in 1139 and resolidified the Church's teachings against usury, clerical marriage, and other problems.

Though the Pierleoni family mostly returned to the Catholic fold, Anacletus' brother Giordano who was then leader of the Commune of Rome, actively opposed Innocent's successors in the following decade.