Pope Urban II (Latin: Urbanus II; c.1035 29 July 1099), otherwise known as Odo of Chtillon or Otho de Lagery, was the head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 12 March 1088 to his death. He is best known for initiating the Crusades.Pope Urban was a native of France, and was a descendant of a noble family from the French commune of Chtillon-sur-Marne. Reims was the nearby cathedral school where he began his studies in 1050.Before his papacy, Urban was the grand prior of Cluny and bishop of Ostia. As pope, he dealt with Antipope Clement III, infighting of various Christian nations, and the Muslim incursions into Europe. In 1095 he started preaching the First Crusade (109699). He promised forgiveness and pardon for all of the past sins of those who would fight to reclaim the holy land from Muslims and free the eastern churches. This pardon would also apply to those that would fight the Muslims in Spain. While the First Crusade resulted in the liberation of Jerusalem from the Fatimids, Pope Urban II died before he could receive this news.
He also set up the modern-day Roman Curia in the manner of a royal ecclesiastical court to help run the Church.He was beatified by Pope Leo XIII on 14 July 1881.
The Archdiocese of Pisa (Latin: Archidioecesis Pisana) is a metropolitan see of the Catholic Church in Pisa, Italy. It was founded in the 4th century and elevated to the dignity of an archdiocese on 21 April 1092 by Pope Urban II. The seat of the bishop is the cathedral of the Assumption in the Piazza del Duomo.
The archbishop of Pisa presides over the Ecclesiastical Province of Pisa, which includes the dioceses of Livorno, Massa Carrara-Pontremoli, Pescia, and Volterra.
Since 2008 the archbishop of Pisa has been Giovanni Paolo Benotto.