Honorius III

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Honorius III is mentioned by Cacciaguida in Canto XI of the Paradiso in connection with the story of Saint Francis. The verse still recalls him as the pope from whom the Franciscan rule received pontifical confirmation. The authorized notes to Paradiso XI clarify that Innocent III had granted the friars, in 1210, a first approval that was only oral, accompanied by permission to preach on moral but not dogmatic matters; subsequently Honorius III ratified that approval with a pontifical bull. The same notes also recall that the journey to the Holy Land undertaken by Francis in 1219 with twelve friars, in the hope of converting the Muslims, took place before Honorius's approval.