Pope Gregory VIII (c. 1100/1105, Benevento, Italy–December 17, 1187, Pisa, Italy), born Alberto di Morra, was Pope from October 25, 1187 until his death.
Alberto di Morra was born about 1110 in Benevento, Italy. His father was the nobleman Sartorius di Morra. He became a monk early in life, either as a Cistercian in Laon, or a Benedictine at Monte Cassino. Alberto later joined a new religious order, the Premonstratensian or Norbertine order, prob...
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Pope Gregory VIII (c. 1100/1105, Benevento, Italy–December 17, 1187, Pisa, Italy), born Alberto di Morra, was Pope from October 25, 1187 until his death.
Alberto di Morra was born about 1110 in Benevento, Italy. His father was the nobleman Sartorius di Morra. He became a monk early in life, either as a Cistercian in Laon, or a Benedictine at Monte Cassino. Alberto later joined a new religious order, the Premonstratensian or Norbertine order, probably between the ages of 20-30. He was a canon at St. Martin's Abbey in Laon. He later became a professor of canon law in Bologna.
In 1156, Pope Adrian IV made him cardinal-deacon of Sant'adriano, and on on March 14, 1158 he became cardinal-priest of San Lorenzo in Lucina. As a papal legate of Pope Alexander III, he was sent to teach canon law throughout Europe in the 1160s, and was sent to Portugal to crown Afonso II. He also brought an offer of reconciliation in 1163 to Holy Roman Emperor Frederick Barbarossa, whom Pope Alexander III had...
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