Celestine IV was a Cistercian prelate who served as the head of the Catholic Church in 1241. Born in Milan, he rose through the ecclesiastical ranks, serving as a cardinal priest and later as the cardinal bishop of Sabina. His brief papacy occurred during a period of intense political instability and conflict between the papacy and Emperor Frederick II. Following his election in late October, he held the papal throne for only seventeen days before his death in Rome.