ORLANDO BANDINELLI

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• Died: August 30, 1181
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Pope Alexander III, born Roland (Italian: Rolando), was the Bishop of Rome and hence head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 7 September 1159 until his death. A native of Bologna, Alexander became pope after a contested election, but had to spend much of his pontificate outside Rome while several rivals, supported by Holy Roman Emperor Frederick I Barbarossa, claimed the papacy. Alexander rejected Byzantine Emperor Manuel I Komnenos' offer to end the East–West Schism, sanctioned the Northern Crusades, and held the Third Council of the Lateran.