Joannes (Ioannes, Johannes) was a 12th century Roman Catholic Cardinal, and Cardinal-priest of the titulus of Santa Cecilia in Trastevere in Rome. Alfonso Chacón writes that he was a member of the Capizucchi family,Alfonso Chacón (Ciaconius) (1677), Agostino Olduin (ed.), Vitae et res gestae pontificum romanorum: et S.R.E. cardinalium . Vol. I (secunda ed.). Roma: P. et A. De Rubeis (Rossi), p. 930. but he was deceived by the forgeries of Alfonso Ceccarelli, a contemporary acquaintance.L. Fumi, "L'opera di falsificazione di A. Ceccarelli," in: Bolletino della R. Deputazione di storia patria per l'Umbria, VIII (1902), pp. 228, 242 (C. provided imaginary origins and family names for popes), 252 (part of his confession of falsifying information about the Roman nobility). H. Tillmann, "Ricerche sull'origine dei membri del collegio cardininalizio nel XII sec.," in: Rivista di storia della Chiesa, XXIV (1970), p. 446. In fact, according to Agostino Paravicini Bagliani, in the 11th and 12th centuries the Capizucchi family had no cardinals.: "In realtà nei secc. XI e XII la famiglia Capizucchi non ha avuto nessun cardinale."

Early career

Alfonso Chacón writes that he was present at the Council of Guastalla on 22 October 1106, but there is no evidence to support his statement.Alfonso Chacón (Ciaconius) (1677), Agostino Olduin (ed.), Vitae et res gestae pontificum romanorum: et S.R.E. cardinalium . Vol. I (secunda ed.), Roma: P. et A. De Rubeis (Rossi), p. 912. Monumenta Germaniae Historica 2, Leges 4, Constitutiones 1 (Hannover: Hahn 1893), p. 565. Uta-Renate Blumenthal (1978). The Early Councils of Pope Paschal II, 1100-1110 Toronto: Pontifical Institute of Mediaeval Studies, pp. 37, 51–54; ISBN 978-0-88844-043-3. The point is passed by in silence by Rudolf Hüls.Hüls (1977), p. 157. He calculates, however, that Joannes should have become a cardinal by 1106, working from the subscription lists on papal documents, and the order in which cardinals signed their names (his Anciennitätprinzip).Hüls (1977), pp. 85, 157. Joannes signs after Benedictus and Anastasius, and before Theobaldus and Rainerius. Divizo and Joannes of S. Pudenziana, however, induce uncertainty.

Cardinal

Cardinal Joannes was present at the Lateran synod of March 1112, and signed its decrees on 23 March.Hüls, p. 157. Monumenta Germaniae Historica 2, Leges 4, Constitutiones 1 (Hannover: Hahn 1893), p. 573.

Cardinal Joannes of S. Cecilia participated in the election of Cardinal Giovanni Gaetani as Pope Gelasius II on 24 January 1118. The electoral meeting took place at the monastery of the Palladium (Santa Maria in Pallara, near the Arch of Titus and the Arch of Constantine) for reasons of security. Cardinal Joannes was one of those present.Pandulfus Pisanus. in: Watterich II, p. 94. During the enthronement ceremony, Cencius Frangipani and his supporters broke into the monastery, seized and abused the pope and others, and carried Gelasius off to one of their prisons. He was rescued, but, on the approach of Henry V to Rome, he fled to Gaeta, to Capua, and then to Pisa.Ferdinand Gregorovius (1896), History of Rome in the Middle Ages. Volume IV. 2, second edition (London: George Bell, 1896), p. 378. Cardinal Joannes remained behind in Rome, and functioned in Rome as a member of the curia, headed by the Vicar of Rome, Cardinal Petrus of Porto. His name appears on a curial decision with those of five other cardinals, in favor of the monastery of S. Sofia in Benevento.Hüls, p. 197, with note 11. P.F. Kehr, Italia pontificia Vol. IX (Berlin: Weidmann 1962), p. 90-91, no. 33.

Pope Gelasius died at Cluny in Burgundy on 29 January 1119. Following his death, the ten cardinals who were present, after consultation with other prelates, Roman officials, and other Romans who were present, proceeded to an election, with the agreement that the name of the successful candidate would be sent to Rome for confirmation. Archbishop Guy of Vienne was elected on 2 February 1119. Within days, Cardinal Pietro Senex presided over the ratification by the Roman clergy of the election of Pope Calixtus II, which was sent to France in time for him to be enthroned in the cathedral of Vienne on 9 February 1119.Watterich, pp. 122-124. P. Jaffe & S. Loewenfeld, Regesta pontificum Romanorum I, second edition (Leipzig: Veit 1885), p. 782. Various cardinals in Rome sent supplementary letters, approving of the actions at Cluny. Cardinal Joannes shared a letter with several of the cardinal-priests.Edmundus Martène et Ursinus Durand, Veterum Scriptorum et monumentorum amplissima collectio Tomus I (Paris 1724), column 645: "Cardinales Romae degentes Bonefacius tituli sancti Marci, Johannes tituli sanctae Ceciliae, Anastasius S. Clementis, Benedictus tituli Eudoxiae, Diviso tituli sancti Equitii, Tibaldus tituli Pammachii, Reinerius tituli SS. Marcellini et Petri, Desiderius tituli S. Praxedis, Gregorius S. [Laurentii in] Lucinae tituli, Hugo tituli apostolorum, karissimis fratribus et cardinalibus qui ultra montes sunt, salutem." Hüls, p. 157, with note 8.

In 1121, from January through April, he participated in the subscribing of papal documents at the Lateran.Hüls, p. 197, with notes 9–12.

On 8 July 1123, Joannes participated at the consecration of a chapel at his own titular church of Santa Cecilia, performed by Bishops Pietro of Porto, Vitalis of Albano, and Guilelmus of Palestrina, in the presence of Pope Calixtus II. The chapel had been the gift of Cardinal Giovanni da Crema.V. Forcella, Inscrizioni delle chese e d' altre edifici di Roma, dal secolo XI fino al secolo XVI Volume II (Roma: Fratelli Bencini, 1873), p. 169, no. 486. Only a bishop can consecrate an altar, a chapel, or a church.

It is not known whether, or in what way, he may have participated in the electoral events, canonical or uncanonical, of December 1124, which led to the enthronement of Pope Honorius II.

His latest known subscription to a papal document took place at the Lateran on 7 May 1128. His successor, Cardinal Goselinus, subscribed on 24 March 1129.Hüls, p. 157, with note 20.

Notes and references

Bibliography Gregorovius, Ferdinand (1896), History of Rome in the Middle Ages. Volume IV. part 2, second edition (London: George Bell, 1896).