[3] He was created Cardinal-Deacon of Santa Maria in Via Lata by Pope Honorius II in 1127;[5] as such, he signed the papal bulls issued between 3 April 1130 and 21 December 1133.

To emphasise this shift, he refused to renew the legatine authority that Innocent II had granted to King Stephen's brother, Henry of Blois.

[11] Celestine also favored the Templars, ordering a general collection for them, as well as the Hospitallers, giving them control of the hospital of Saint Mary Teutonicorum in Jerusalem.

[16] Louis agreed to accept Pierre as the legitimate archbishop of Bourges, and in return, Celestine removed the sentence of interdict.

[13] Celestine died on 8 March 1144[1] in the monastery of Saint Sebastian on the Palatine hill and was buried in the south transept of the Lateran.