Paschal I

a pope of Rome, was born at Rome near the middle of the 8th-century. After taking-the monastic vows he entered into Holy orders, and was for several years abbot of the Benefit monastery of St. Stephen at Rome. Pope Leo III elevated him to the cardinate, and upon the death of pope Stephen V he ascended the papal throne, Jan. 25, 817, by the choice of both clergy and people, who in their impatience urged him to assume the functions of the office without the imperial sanction, which was then regarded as indispensable. Paschal I was wise enough not to assume the responsibility of this step, and by special messenger informed the emperor of the disloyal precipitancy of the people. Of course the imperial forgiveness was thus easily secured, and the pontiff became a favorite of the emperor. To Paschal the pretended donation by the emperor Louis the Pious is said to have been made. He crowned as emperor Lothaire, son of Louis the Pious, in the year 823, and died the following year. He was succeeded by Eugenius II.. Shortly before his death Paschal I was subject to severe censure by the imperial friends for the summary punishment he meted out to two ecclesiastics who were believed to have been imperialists, but Paschal's position is justifiable. The punished had been guilty of disloyalty to the pope, and though they were strongly connected with the imperialists, this was no reason why the pope should not have punished them: if they were treacherous subjects, of his. On the re-outbreak of the iconoclastic controversy at Constantinople, Paschal granted an asylum to those Greek preists who favored the use of images in churches. He is the author of three letters which are found in the collection of the councils. See Pagi, Breviar. Pontif Romans 2:25 sq.; Aschbach, KirchenzLex. s.v.; Bower, Hist. of the Popes; Riddle, Hist. of the Papacy, 1:328 sq.; Milman, Hist. of Latin Christianity; 2:519, 529; Baxmann, Gesch. der Politik der Papste, 1, 331.