Election As Pope
On 18 July 1216, seventeen cardinals present at the death of Innocent III assembled at Perugia (where Innocent III had died two days previously) with the purpose of electing a new Pope. The troubled state of affairs in Italy, the threatening attitude of the Tatars, and the fear of a schism induced the cardinals to agree to an election by compromise. Cardinals Ugolino of Ostia (afterwards Pope Gregory IX) and Guido of Praeneste were empowered to appoint the new Pope. Their choice fell upon Cencio Camerario, who accepted the tiara with reluctance and took the name of Honorius III. He was consecrated at Perugia on 24 July and was crowned at Rome on 31 August. He took possession of the Lateran on 3 September 1216. The Roman people were greatly elated at the election, for Honorius III was himself a Roman and by his extreme kindness had endeared himself to the hearts of all.
Like his famous predecessor Innocent III, he set his mind on the achievement of two great goals: the recovery of the Holy Land in the Fifth Crusade and a spiritual reform of the entire Church. But in contrast with Innocent III, he sought these achievements by kindness and indulgence rather than by force and severity.
Read more about this topic: Pope Honorius III
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