ADRIAN V

Adrian V, Ottobono Fieschi, nephew of Innocent IV, was born in Genoa 1205. His uncle appointed him cardinal deacon of St. Adrian in 1251, and in 1265, Clement IV sent Cardinal Fieschi to England to settle a dispute between Henry III and his barons, who insisted the king should honor the Magna Carta, and to persuade Henry to lead a crusade. The successful cardinal returned to Rome in 1268 and became a leading figure in the Curia. He was elected to the papacy in July of 1276 and died five weeks later, before he was ordained a priest and crowned pope. His only official papal act was to ease Gregory X's strictures about rationing food during conclaves. Died: 1276.

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