Holy See / Papa Gregorius Tertius (Pope Gregory III)

Pope Gregory III (Latin: Gregorius III) was Pope from 11 February 731 to his death in 741. His pontificate, like that of his predecessor, was disturbed by the iconoclastic controversy in the Byzantine Empire, and by the ongoing advance of the Lombards, in which he invoked the intervention of Charles Martel, although ultimately in vain. He was the 5th Syrian pope and the 10th and last pope born outside Europe until the election of Pope Francis in 2013, which was 1,272 years later.

Gregory III died on 28 November 741. He was succeeded by Pope Zachary. He was buried in St. Peter’s Basilica, in the oratory he had built at the start of his pontificate. Gregory’s feast day is now celebrated on 10 December.