himself at Ptolemy II's fortress in Tusculum, the closest town to Rome at which he could safely install himself, on 8 April 1149. There he met the returning Crusader couple Louis VII of France and Eleanor of Aquitaine, who were by then barely on speaking terms given the strains of the failed Crusade and the rumors of Eleanor's incestuous adultery during the Crusade. Eugene, "a gentle, kind-hearted man who hated to see people unhappy" attempted to assuage the pain of the failed Crusade and their failing marriage by insisting that they slept in the same bed and "by daily converse to restore the love between them". His efforts were unsuccessful, and two years later Eugene agreed to annul the marriage on the grounds of consanguinity. Eugene stayed at Tusculum until 7 November. At the end of November 1149, through the aid of the king of Sicily, he was again able to enter Rome, but the atmosphere of open hostility from the Comune soon compelled him to retire (June 1150). Emperor Frederick I Barbarossa promised to aid Eugene against his subjects who had revolted but the support never came. Eugene III died at Tivoli on 8 July 1153. Though the citizens of Rome resented Eugene III's effort to assert his temporal authority, they recognized him as their spiritual lord. Until the day of his death he continued to wear the coarse habit of a Cistercian monk under his robe. He was buried in the Vatican with every mark of respect. Veneration The people of Rome were quick to recognize Eugene III as a pious figure who was meek and spiritual. His tomb acquired considerable fame owing to the miracle purported to have occurred there and his cause for sainthood commenced. Pope Pius IX beatified him in 1872. See also Knights Templar References Citations Sources Original text from the 9th edition (1879) of an unnamed encyclopedia. Original referred to him as Eugene – modified to match spelling on Popes list. Please update article as needed. M. Horn, Studien zur Geschichte Papst Eugens III.(1145–1153), Peter Lang Verlag 1992 Saint Bernard of Clairvaux, On Consideration, (addressed to Pope Eugene III), George Lewis, trans., Oxford, Clarendon Press, 1908. Italian popes Christians of the Second Crusade Christians of the Wendish Crusade Italian Cistercians Cistercian popes Italian beatified people Clergy from Pisa 1080s births 1153 deaths Year of birth unknown Popes 12th-century popes Beatified popes Cistercian beatified