ABSTRACT
There is no doubt that the short pontificate of the aged Celestine III has been overshadowed by that of his youthful successor, Innocent III. Innocent’s reign, with its many dramatic events, has stimulated the publication of numerous recent biographies and studies,1 while the preceding pontificate of Celestine has not received a full-length treatment; and even the earlier studies of Leineweber and Zerbi have little to say about the substantial body of decretals relating to marriage.2 Terms like elderly fearfulness and weakness have been used to describe Celestine’s political conduct,3 but they hardly characterize his response to the cases and queries brought before him concerning marriage. Rather, pastoral care, judicious caution, and the recognition that the eternal salvation of souls was at stake in every instance were the bases for this pope’s rulings and instructions. These principles were evident in cases where the pope emphasized the canonical formation of marriage, its indissoluble and sacramental character, and in his guarded application of the canon law for its dissolution.
