{"id":"pope-urban-ii","type":"person","url":"https://diginpl.com/people/pope-urban-ii","language":"en","name":"Pope Urban II","name_en":"Pope Urban II","name_ne":null,"description":"11th century pope and initiator of the Crusades","headline":"11th century pope and initiator of the Crusades","also_known_as":[],"summary":"Pope Urban II (Latin: Urbanus II; c. 1035 – 29 July 1099), otherwise known as Odo of Châtillon or Otho de Lagery, was the head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 12 March 1088 to his death. He is best known for convening the Council of Clermont, which ignited the series of Catholic military expeditions known as the Crusades.","summary_more":["Pope Urban was a native of France and a descendant of a noble family from the French commune of Châtillon-sur-Marne. Before his papacy, Urban was the grand prior of Cluny and bishop of Ostia. As pope, he dealt with Antipope Clement III, the infighting of various Christian nations, and the Turkish invasions into Anatolia. In 1095, he started preaching for the start of the First Crusade (1096–1099). He promised forgiveness and pardon for all of the past sins of those who would fight to reclaim the Holy Land from Muslims and free the Eastern churches. This pardon would also apply to those fighting the Muslims in Spain. While the First Crusade resulted in the capture of Jerusalem and expulsion of the Fatimids, Pope Urban II died before he could receive the news.","Urban II also set up the modern-day Roman Curia in the manner of a royal ecclesiastical court to help run the church. He was beatified by Pope Leo XIII on 14 July 1881."],"facts":[{"key":"born","label":"Born","values":[{"text":"1035","date":"1035"}],"source":{"label":"Wikidata","url":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q30578#P569"}},{"key":"birthplace","label":"Place of birth","values":[{"text":"Châtillon-sur-Marne","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q688485"}],"source":{"label":"Wikidata","url":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q30578#P19"}},{"key":"died","label":"Died","values":[{"text":"29 July 1099","date":"1099-07-29"}],"source":{"label":"Wikidata","url":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q30578#P570"}},{"key":"deathplace","label":"Place of death","values":[{"text":"Rome","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q220"}],"source":{"label":"Wikidata","url":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q30578#P20"}},{"key":"occupation","label":"Occupation","values":[{"text":"Catholic priest","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q250867"},{"text":"author","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q482980"}],"source":{"label":"Wikidata","url":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q30578#P106"}},{"key":"positions","label":"Positions held","values":[{"text":"Pope (18 March 1088 – 29 July 1099)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q19546","start":"1088-03-18","end":"1099-07-29"},{"text":"cardinal-bishop of Ostia (1078–1088)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q103479666","start":"1078","end":"1088"}],"source":{"label":"Wikidata","url":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q30578#P39"}}],"office":null,"sections":[],"cited":[],"cited_from":null,"videos":[],"last_reviewed":null,"organizations":[],"same_as":["https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pope_Urban_II","https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q30578"],"faq":[{"q":"When was Pope Urban II born?","a":"Pope Urban II was born on 1035 in Châtillon-sur-Marne."},{"q":"What positions has Pope Urban II held?","a":"Positions held by Pope Urban II include: Pope (1088–1099); cardinal-bishop of Ostia (1078–1088)."}],"related":[{"name":"Pope Telesphorus","url":"https://diginpl.com/people/pope-telesphorus"},{"name":"Pope Gregory XIII","url":"https://diginpl.com/people/pope-gregory-xiii"},{"name":"Pope Clement VII","url":"https://diginpl.com/people/pope-clement-vii"},{"name":"Pope Pius I","url":"https://diginpl.com/people/pope-pius-i"},{"name":"Pope Boniface I","url":"https://diginpl.com/people/pope-boniface-i"},{"name":"Pope Agapetus I","url":"https://diginpl.com/people/pope-agapetus-i"},{"name":"Pope Benedict XVI","url":"https://diginpl.com/people/pope-benedict-xvi"},{"name":"Pope Benedict XI","url":"https://diginpl.com/people/pope-benedict-xi"},{"name":"Pope Innocent VI","url":"https://diginpl.com/people/pope-innocent-vi"},{"name":"Pope Alexander IV","url":"https://diginpl.com/people/pope-alexander-iv"},{"name":"Pope Gregory IX","url":"https://diginpl.com/people/pope-gregory-ix"},{"name":"Pope Innocent V","url":"https://diginpl.com/people/pope-innocent-v"}],"places_in":[],"nearby":[],"image":{"url":"https://diginpl.com/kb-img/pope-urban-ii-0a6953c0f1.jpg","width":500,"height":504,"license":"Public domain","credit":"Unknown author Unknown author","page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Urbano_II_in_consacrazione_de_l%27altare_del_monastero_di_Cluny_(detail).png"},"sources":[{"label":"Wikipedia (English): Pope Urban II","url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pope_Urban_II","license":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/"},{"label":"Wikidata item Q30578","url":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q30578","license":"https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/"},{"label":"Image: Urbano II in consacrazione de l'altare del monastero di Cluny (detail).png by Unknown author Unknown author (Public domain)","url":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Urbano_II_in_consacrazione_de_l%27altare_del_monastero_di_Cluny_(detail).png","license":null}],"license":{"text":"CC BY-SA 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/","facts":"https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/"},"attribution":"Text from the Wikipedia article Pope Urban II, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. This page's text is shared under the same licence. Facts from Wikidata (CC0). Image: Urbano II in consacrazione de l'altare del monastero di Cluny (detail).png — Unknown author Unknown author, Public domain.","cite":"\"Pope Urban II\". DigiNepal. Last updated 3 November 2026. https://diginpl.com/people/pope-urban-ii. Retrieved 5 November 2026.","date_modified":"2026-11-03T06:43:32Z","facts_checked":"2026-11-05","alternates":{"html":"https://diginpl.com/people/pope-urban-ii","en":"https://diginpl.com/people/pope-urban-ii","ne":"https://diginpl.com/people/pope-urban-ii?lang=ne"}}