Pope Urban II was born as "Odo of Chatillon" in the countryside of France. His accomplishments are countless, though organizing the First Crusade and receiving sainthood top his list

Before he was the Pope, Urban was an abbey of Cluny. Later on, Pope Gregory VII named him the Cardinal-Bishop of Ostia and Velletri- Pope Gregory VII also named him as one of his possible successors.

Since Gregory took a liking to Urban, he was working in Germany as papal legate to maintain support of the Pope opposed to the emperor of Rome.

Urban was elected Pope on March 12th, 1088 AD, after Pope Gregory died and the short papacy of Victor III.

Before and during his papacy, Urban was a member of a reform movement that wanted the clergy to be more removed from "worldly values" and influences, bringing life in general, closer to life in a monastery

In the first week of March 1095, a delegation from the Byzantine emperor Alexius I Comnenus presented Urban with a request for help against the Turks. Pope Urban II's response was to preach the First Crusade, starting on November 27, 1095, at the Council of Clermont

A council of bishops and ambassadors from throughout the empire met, and Pope Urban delivered a speech that persuaded the council into helping the Byzantine emperor.

There exist no real transcripts of what Urban actually said that day, but it was impactful enough that his words were believed to launch even more crusades later on. Ultimately, Pope Urban II was significant because he launched the first of the crusades.