Eugenius III, like other European leaders, was shocked at the fall of the crusader state of Edessa in 1144 to the Turks. He first called on Louis VII of France to take part in a second crusade to the Holy Land, while his former mentor St. Bernard convinced Conrad III to participate at a diet held in Speyer in 1146. Conrad was accompanied during the Second Crusade by his nephew, Frederick [Barbarossa], the future Holy Roman Emperor.
Interesting, Bernard was not initially a supporter of Eugensius' ascension to the papacy, but upon his election Bernard is believed to have exerted a great degree of influence over Eugenius. During nearly all of Eugenius' reign he was forced to live outside of Rome due to the powerful influence of his enemy Arnold of Brescia, who opposed the temporal authority of the papacy. Although Roman citizens objected to Eugenius' claim to temporal authority, they seem to have accepted the legitimacy of his spiritual authority.
The events of the Second Crusade did not help Eugenius' fragile grasp of political power. The crusade was widely viewed as a debacle. Criticism was so widespread, that no less a figure than St. Bernard felt compelled to offer an apology for the Crusade. Additionally surviving sources related to Eugesius include an account of Eugenius' calling of the Second Crusade and a letter from Conrad III to Eugenius in which he detailed the problems encountered by the crusaders.