Giovanni San Paolo

Education

He studied medicine at Amalfi.

Career

He was made Cardinal-Deacon on February 20, 1193, then Cardinal Priest of Santa Prisca in May 1193 and finally Cardinal Bishop of Sabina at the end of 1204 (subscribed as bishop for the first time on January 9, 1205). Giovanni ("John" in English) rose to influence in the curia during the pontificate of Pope Celestine III. Innocent employed him on many legatine missions to Germany, Spain, Sicily, and France. He was also grand penitentiary.

In 1200 he was in France with Cardinal Octavian to deal with Philip Augustus" divorce.

He delivered a revised version of the decretal Vergentis in senium, first issued by Innocent in March 1199 for Viterbo in the Papal States. The Languedocian version of the decretal was considerably less harsh, omitting a clause calling for the dispossession of the Catholic heirs of heretics.

lieutenant was probably for his work in Languedoc that he was elevated to the suburbicarian bishopric of Sabina in 1204. He died at Rome. He is remembered at Amalfi for his munificence in building and endowing a spacious hospital there.

Achievements

• According to Roger of Hoveden, he was nominated by Celestine III to succeed him in 1198, but appears to have received cardinal priesthood of Santa Prisca as a consolation prize from Celestine"s successor Innocent III. However, since he was actually appointed to that rank in 1193, this story seems to be inaccurate.

Membership

He is often referred to as a member of the powerful Roman Colonna family, but modern scholars have established that this is based on the falsehood from the beginning of 16th century.

Personality

He was the powerful friend of Francis of Assisi and was instrumental in obtaining papal approval of the Franciscan Rule.