Pope Alexander II

Early life and work

Anselm was born in Milan of a noble family. As bishop of Lucca, he was an energetic coadjutor with Hildebrand of Sovana in endeavouring to suppress simony and enforce clerical celibacy. (In this role, he is sometimes known as Anselm the Elder or Anselm I to distinguish him from his nephew St Anselm who succeeded to his office.)

Election as pope

In the papal election of 1061 following the death of Pope Nicholas II, Anselmo de Baggio of Lucca was elected as Pope Alexander II.

Unlike previous papal elections, the assent of the Holy Roman Emperor to the election was not sought, and cardinal bishops were the sole electors of the pope for the first time in the history of the Roman Catholic Church; in accordance with Nicholas II's bull, In Nomine Domini.

The new Pope Alexander II was crowned at nightfall on October 1, 1061 in San Pietro in Vincoli Basilica, because opposition to the election made a coronation in St. Peter's Basilica impossible, and the German court nominated another candidate, Cadalus, bishop of Parma, who was proclaimed Pope at the council of Basel under the name of Honorius II. He marched to Rome and for a long time threatened his rival's position. At length, however, Honorius was forsaken by the German court and deposed by a council held at Mantua; Alexander II's position remained unchallenged.

Position on Jews

In 1065, Pope Alexander II wrote to Béranger, Viscount of Narbonne, and to Guifred, bishop of the city, praising them for having prevented the massacre of the Jews in their district, and reminding them that God does not approve of the shedding of innocent blood. That same year, he admonished Landulf VI of Benevento "that the conversion of Jews is not to be obtained by force."

Crusade against the Moors

Also in the same year, Alexander called for the Crusade of Barbastro against the Moors in Spain. Alexander II issued orders to the Bishops of Narbonne, instructing crusaders en route "that you protect the Jews who live among you, so that they may not be killed by those who are setting out for Spain against the Saracens ... for the situation of the Jews is greatly different from that of the Saracens. One may justly fight against those [the Saracens] who persecute Christians and drive them from their towns and their own homes."

William the Conqueror

In 1066, he entertained an embassy from William, duke of Normandy, after his successful invasion of Brittany. The embassy had been sent to obtain his blessing for William's prospective invasion of Anglo-Saxon England. Alexander gave it, along with a papal ring, the Standard of St. George, and an edict to the autonomous Old English clergy guiding them to submit to the new regime. These favors were instrumental in the submission of the English church following the Battle of Hastings. Count Eustace carried his Papal insignia, a gonfanon with three tails charged with a cross, which William of Poitiers says was given to William I to signify the Pope's blessing of his invasion to secure a submission to Rome.

Poland

In 1072 Alexander commanded the reluctant Polish priest Stanislaus of Szczepanów to accept appointment as Bishop of Kraków - becoming one of the earliest native Polish bishops. This turned out to be a significant decision for the Polish Church (and for Polish history in general): once appointed, Stanislaus was a highly assertive bishop who got into conflict with Polish king Bolesław II the Bold, was assassinated by him and was eventually canonized and venerated as a major Polish saint.

Alleluia

Alexander II oversaw the suppression of the "Alleluia" during the Latin Church's celebration of Lent. This is followed to this day, and in the Tridentine rite "Alleluia" is also omitted during the Advent season.