Holy Land The first true crusade bull was
Quantum praedecessores, issued by
Eugene III for the
Second Crusade in 1145. It became the model for later bulls.
Gregory VIII launched the
Third Crusade in 1187 with the bull
Audita tremendi. The
Fourth Crusade grew out of two bulls issued by
Innocent III in 1198 and 1199, which innovated new means of raising funds. in 1213
Pope Innocent III issued
Quia maior which launched the
Fifth Crusade. In 1245,
Innocent IV issued
Terra Sancta Christi which sparked the
Seventh Crusade. By the 13th century, the bull was the defining mark of a true crusade.
Canon lawyers did not regard vows taken for unauthorized expeditions (the
popular crusades) as binding.
Clement IV in 1265 issued a general Bull for the whole of Spain, when the Kings of Aragon and Castile joined in the expedition against
Murcia. In the course of time these pontifical concessions became more and more frequent; in the reign of the
Catholic Monarchs alone they were granted in 1478, 1479, 1481, 1482, 1485, 1494, 1503 and 1505, and were continued during succeeding reigns, The one granted by
Gregory XIII in 1573 being renewed by his successors. The alms given by the faithful in response to this bull, which were at first used exclusively for carrying on the war against the 'infidel' Moors, were afterwards used for the construction and repair of churches and other pious works; sometimes they were also used to defray expenses of the State. The Cortes (estates assembly) of Valladolid of 1523 and that of Madrid of 1592 petitioned that this money should not be used for any other purpose than that for which it had originally been intended by the donors, but, notwithstanding the provisions made by
Philip III of Spain in compliance with this request, the abuse already mentioned continued. As an example, in the 1740s, the governor of
Oran, a Spanish outpost on Algeria, insistently requested that, while the bull sustained the Spanish presence, the acquisition and maintenance of dromedaries for the
Royal Palace of Aranjuez had to be funded from a different source. After 1847 the funds derived from this source were devoted to the endowment of churches and the clergy, this disposition being ratified by a law in 1849 and in the
Concordat of 1851. In virtue of the concessions granted by this bull, the faithful of the Spanish dominions who had fulfilled the necessary conditions could gain the plenary indulgence, granted to those who fought for the reconquest of the Holy Land and to those who went to Rome in the
year of Jubilee, provided they went to confession and received Holy Communion. They were also absolved twice of sins and censures reserved to the Holy See and the ordinary, except open heresy—and others concerning ecclesiastics, to have vows that could not be fulfilled without difficulty commuted by their confessor—unless failure to fulfill them would be to the disadvantage of another; also
simple vows of perpetual
chastity, of religious profession and of
pilgrimage to the Holy Land. Those who visited five churches or altars, or the same altar five times, and prayed for the intentions of the Crusade, could gain the indulgences granted to those who visited the stations in Rome. The Bull also permitted the faithful of the Spanish dominions to eat meat on all the days of
Lent and other days of
fast and abstinence, except
Ash Wednesday, the Fridays of Lent, the last four days of
Holy Week and the vigils of the feasts of the
Nativity,
Pentecost, the
Assumption and Saints Peter and Paul.
Northern Crusades The bull
Non parum animus noster (
Latin for "Our mind is deeply [troubled]") issued by
Pope Alexander III in 1171 or 1172 was instrumental in promoting the
Northern Crusades against the then pagan
Estonians and
Finns. In the bull, Alexander III promised an indulgence and one year's remission of sin to those who fought the pagans. Those who died in this crusade would receive full indulgence. ==References==