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Pope Saint Paschal I

11 February
formerly 14 May

Profile

Son of Bonosus. Studied at the Lateran Basilica in Rome, Italy. Benedictine monk. Abbot of Saint Stephen’s monastery, which was near the Vatican, and which housed pilgrims to Rome. Elected 98th pope in 817.

Defended the Greeks against iconoclastic emperors, and sheltered refugees from the iconoclast persecutions. Supported Saint Nicephorous and Saint Theodore Studites. Enshrined the relics of Saint Caecilia and other martyrs.

When two papal officials were found blinded and murdered, Paschal was accused of the crime. He was not involved, but the murderers were members of his household, and he refused to surrender them, claiming that the victims were traitors, and that secular authorities had no jurisdiction over events that occurred within the Vatican. The dispute resulted in the Constitution of Lothair, which set specific limits on the law enforement and judicial powers of the pope.