Abridged History of Rome - PART II - V - The Popes Leave Rome Iconography Pope Clement V and the Move to Avignon The circumstances which caused the death of Pope Boniface VIII in 1303 led to the submission of the popes to the will of Philip the Fair, King of France. At the end of a twelve months long conclave which followed the short period in office of Pope Benedict XI, the king saw his efforts rewarded by the election of his candidate, the Archbishop of Bordeaux, who was not even a cardinal. The new pope summoned the cardinals and the key members of the Curia, the papal court, to Lyons where he was anointed and became Pope Clement V on November 14, 1305. The ceremony was attended by King Philip, accompanied by the top members of the French aristocracy, but the day was marked by dire portents: in particular a wall collapsed on the pope during the procession, he lost his balance and his crown fell to the ground.

It was not the first time that a pope was conferred his office outside Rome, nor was it unusual for a pope to spend long periods away from his diocese, so the decision of the new pope not to hurry to Rome and to stay for a while in several towns of southern France was not particularly odd. Things changed in 1309 when the pope decided to permanently settle at Avignon , a town in Provence which belonged to the Angevin King of Naples , in his capacity of Count of Provence. In addition to choosing to stay in France, Pope Clement V appointed nine new French cardinals. At the request of the French king he excommunicated the powerful Order of the Knights Templar and gave the king a free hand in getting hold of their large possessions. S. Giovanni in Laterano : new ciborium (1370) The French popes who resided in Avignon for seventy years did not care about the maintenance and improvement of the great Roman basilicas. S. Giovanni in Laterano was partially destroyed by a fire in 1308 and again damaged by another fire in 1361. These fires caused a silver ciborium to melt down.

It was only in 1370 that a new ciborium was erected. Its design, elegant but very similar to that of the ciboria erected eighty years earlier by Arnolfo di Cambio in S. Cecilia and in S. Paolo fuori le Mura, shows that Rome was lagging behind the artistic developments which in the meantime occurred in Tuscany and northern Italy. Decline of the Roman Economy The administration of Rome in the first half of the XIVth century was entrusted to a legate, a cardinal representing the pope, and to the Senator of Rome (also appointed by the pope), who had jurisdiction over some municipal matters. These two key positions were in the hands respectively of the Orsini and the Colonna. These two families were at loggerheads, but were united in the spoliation of Rome and in particular of its countryside. During this period of time the small villages around Rome were abandoned and replaced by casali, (farms) belonging to few important families who rented their estates to owners of cattle who used the land as grazing ground.

The confrontation between the Colonna and the Orsini also led to a reduction of the security level both in Rome and along the roads used by the pilgrims to reach the city. The absence from Rome impacted on the authority of the pope: Pope John XXII tried to exert the traditional papal role in the appointment of the German emperor, but his excommunication of Emperor Louis IV of Bavaria had very little impact. The emperor invaded Italy, was welcomed in Rome by Senator Sciarra Colonna and he appointed a new pope, a member of the spiritual Franciscans, who advocated evangelical poverty. The emperor decided to be crowned in Rome, but he did not care about the religious aspects of the ceremony: the event took place on the Campidoglio and the crown of Holy Roman Emperor was placed on Louis' head by Sciarra Colonna, as representative of the City of Rome: after a thousand years (the practice had been dismissed by Constantine the Great in 313) an emperor was crowned on the sacred hill of Ancient Rome. In the XIVth century the great nations of Europe were taking shape and the words of a French pope had little to say to a German audience. S.

Maria sopra Minerva : Monument to Cardinal Matteo Orsini It would be inappropriate to assume a rivalry between the Dominicans and the Franciscans, but for sure in the XIVth century there was a spirit of competition between these two monastic orders. Pope John XXII in 1323 proclaimed the sainthood of Thomas Aquinas, a Dominican monk whose works had an enormous influence on the theology of the Roman Catholic Church. In Rome the new church of S. Maria sopra Minerva was the Dominican response to the Franciscan church of S. Maria in Aracoeli. It was a very large church, the only one in Rome to have a distinct Gothic design. Knowing that the pope liked the Dominicans, who, unlike some Franciscans, did not criticize the pomp of the papal court, the Orsini chose to build their family chapel in this church (which was not yet completed).

Today's visitors however do not find any longer an Orsini chapel in the church: this is now known as Cappella Aldobrandini, it has a lavish early Baroque marble decoration and it contains the monuments to the parents of Pope Clement VIII Aldobrandini (you may see it in a page covering the colours of Baroque Rome ). The chapel was sold by the Orsini to the Aldobrandini in 1587 and the new landlords evicted the monument to Cardinal Matteo Orsini, the founder of the chapel. It was placed (without its Gothic baldachin) in a dark corridor leading to the church rear entrance (sic transit gloria mundi - thus passes the glory of the world). Cola di Rienzo's Attempts to Restore the Roman Republic The vexations to which the people of Rome were subjected eventually led to a revolt against the Colonna and the Orsini. (Ni)Cola di Rienzo, a notary who had spent some time at the papal court in Avignon, arranged a public meeting in the square below the Capitol on Whit Sunday 1347.

There he spoke with eloquence about the need to redeem Rome and proposed new laws which were acclaimed by the crowd. The enthusiasm was such that both Colonna and Orsini chose to leave Rome. Cola di Rienzo (or Rienzi) took the ancient title of Tribune of the People , an office of Republican Rome. Cola went ahead with his ambitious plan to renovate the political role of Rome by calling an assembly of the representatives of the Italian towns during which he proposed to them a federation under the leadership of Rome. He also wrote to the kings and emperors of Europe asking them to recognize the Republic of Rome. With the fall of the first leaves, his words lost their appeal and both the great families and the pope started to plot against him. The Colonna led a small army to Rome to execute a papal order of arrest: Cola fled the city and hid into a monastery. The short season of the new Roman Republic came to an end. S. Maria in Aracoeli : steps and monument to Cola di Rienzo The Romans soon lost interest in the whereabouts of Cola di Rienzo because in 1348 a major pestilence spread throughout Europe.

The Black Death, as this outbreak of bubonic plague became known, is estimated to have halved the population of Europe. In Rome the disease was accompanied by another calamity: a strong earthquake damaged several buildings including the Colosseo . The end of the plague was celebrated by providing S. Maria in Aracoeli with steps which allowed direct access to its main entrance: the church had initially had the entrance facing the Roman Forum, then the Franciscans rebuilt the church and reversed its orientation, but people continued to access the church from the Forum through a still existing side door. The new steps were a clear indication that the centre of Rome had moved from the Forum to Campo Marzio, the flat area between the hills and the river. Cola di Rienzo was eventually arrested and brought to Avignon. In 1353 however Pope Innocent VI thought the man could help him in restoring the papal authority in Rome and he was sent back with a small military force. He was initially greeted by the Romans, but the taxes he levied to maintain his troops and his personal greed soon made him unpopular. In addition, notwithstanding Cola's current role as papal envoy, the Colonna were less than enthusiastic about having him back in Rome.

In September 1354 a hostile mob gathered at Palazzo Senatorio : Cola tried to speak, but he was soon interrupted and had to escape in disguise. He was identified from the gold bracelets he wore and killed without a trial. The body was left for two days outside the houses of the Colonna . Cola's role as a forerunner of the Italian nation and a victim of the theocratic power was emphasized in the XIXth century and on September 20, 1887 (the anniversary of the 1870 entrance of the Italian troops in Rome through a breach near Porta Pia ) a monument to him was inaugurated in a small garden between the two staircases of Campidoglio. He was portrayed in the act of haranguing the Romans: the statue was placed on a high base decorated with pieces of ancient lintels. Calls for the Return of the Pope In June 1348 Pope Clement VI bought Avignon from the king of Naples; this act coupled with the construction of a very large palace indicated that the French popes were determined to establish their permanent residence in that town. It was in a sense a forced choice.

After the death of Philip the Fair, a string of successors ruled France for short periods until the crown passed to Philip VI of Valois, who in 1337 started the Hundred Years' War by declaring that Edward III, King of England had lost his rights over Aquitaine. With France weakened by the effects of the war, the popes felt relatively safe in Avignon while Rome and in general the Italian regions under the formal authority of the popes were in a state of anarchy. From a religious point of view however the decision to stay in Avignon was highly criticized. The great Italian poets Dante and Petrarca had harsh words for the papal reluctance to return to Rome. Francesco Petrarca (Petrarch), who had a direct experience of the life at the papal court, described Avignon as a new Babylon: De l'empia Babilonia, ond'ï¿½ fuggita ogni vergogna, ond'ogni bene ï¿½ fori, albergo di dolor, madre d'errori, son fuggito io per allungar la vita...

Canzoniere - CXIV From the impious Babylon, from which all shame has fled, all good is banished, the house of grief, the mother of error, I've also fled, to prolong my life.... Translation by A. S. Kline The comparison between Babylon and the papal court had more lasting effects than Petrarca could have imagined when he wrote his sonnet. It was used again by Martin Luther in a letter to Pope Leo X : "Your See, however, which is called the Court of Rome, and which neither you nor any man can deny to be more corrupt than any Babylon ..". 1962 Monument to St. Catherine of Siena by Francesco Messina in the gardens of Castel Sant'Angelo Saint Catherine of Siena played a very important role in calling for the return of the popes. She was a Dominican Tertiary (a lay member of a monastic order) and in Rome she lived in a house near S. Maria sopra Minerva : after a series of visions, she felt she had to write to popes and kings begging for peace and for the return of the papacy to Rome.

In June 1376 she was sent to Avignon as ambassador of the Republic of Florence to settle a long dispute with the pope and on that occasion she so impressed Pope Gregory XI that he decided to move to Rome. For the 500th anniversary of her canonization in 1462 a monument was dedicated to St. Catherine in the gardens of Castel Sant'Angelo: the saint was portrayed on her way to St Peter's where she used to go every day to pray for the return of the pope. One of the reliefs of the monument shows the saint asking the pope to make a firm decision. Cardinal Albornoz The popes were able to restore their authority over their Italian possessions due to the services of Gil Alvarez De Albornoz, a Spanish cardinal, who had military experience because of the particular situation of his country where the Christian kingdoms were trying to conquer the last Arab strongholds. Albornoz, as archbishop of Toledo, personally led his troops in several battles. In addition to his military skills, Albornoz had a shrewd knowledge of how to survive in the treacherous environment of the papal court.

In 1353 he was sent to Italy as papal legate and, apart from a short interval, he held this office until his death in 1367. By following a systematic approach and by exploiting the rivalries among the various towns of the Papal State, he gradually managed by force or by consent to restore the pope's authority. He was so successful that in 1367 Pope Urban V decided to make an attempt to return to Rome; he left the papal court at Avignon and escorted by ships sent by Venice, Naples, Pisa and Genoa, he landed at Corneto where he was greeted by Albornoz. The pope set his residence in the Vatican but soon he started to regret his decision: Albornoz died of malaria, the Romans were not too happy about the first papal decrees aimed at reducing their municipal powers, the French cardinals who had accompanied the pope missed the wines of Burgundy. Pope Urban V preferred to move his residence to Viterbo and Montefiascone and in September 1370 he left Italy to return to Avignon, notwithstanding the fact that St. Bridget of Sweden had warned him that he would die if he left Rome.

In December of that same year the pope actually died. Rocca di Spoleto Cardinal Albornoz did not trust the unwilling professions of allegiance made by the citizens of the towns he forced to surrender. He therefore built fortresses in many of these towns; they were not meant to protect the town from external enemies, but to allow a small garrison to repel rebellions against papal decisions. These fortresses were usually called la Rocca because they were located on the rocky top of a hill in a commanding position. A major fortress was built in Spoleto ; other fortresses built by Cardinal Albornoz can be seen in a page covering the fortresses of the popes . Pope Gregory XI and his Return to Rome The new pope, Gregory XI, was the nephew of Pope Clement VI who in 1348 bought the town of Avignon. He did not seem very interested in leaving his French palace although he had committed to move to Rome in May 1372. In the Italian papal possessions the absence of the firm grip of Cardinal Albornoz, was soon felt.

Florence and Milan supported the rebellion of many towns; the pope excommunicated the city of Florence, but that did not have a great impact on its inhabitants who were enjoying themselves reading the Decameron, a book of tales where priests and monks were ridiculed. It was written by Giovanni Boccaccio and it described how a group of ten young men and women spent ten days in a countryside villa outside Florence where they hoped to escape the 1348 pestilence: every day each member of the happy brigade told a tale so the book was also known as Centonovelle (100 tales). Overall Boccaccio's tales portrayed a wealthy and active society which showed little interest in the teachings of the Church. Other political initiatives of Pope Gregory XI met with similar failures to the point that he realized that only the return to Rome could restore the authority of the pope, both in spiritual and political matters. He sent an army of 10,000 mercenaries led by Cardinal Robert de Genevois to restore order in the papal state: this cardinal lacked the balance of Cardinal Albornoz and his troops left behind them a series of horrible massacres.

In September 1376 Pope Gregory XI left Avignon and by moving at a very slow pace he reached Rome in January 1377. In the meantime Cardinal Robert was unable to control the country without excessive use of force: the massacre of 4,000 inhabitants of Cesena, a town near Bologna, earned him the unflattering title of Boia (executioner) di Cesena. The pope felt unsafe in the Vatican and spent several months in Anagni . He returned to Rome only in November when Gomez Albornoz, nephew of Cardinal Albornoz, managed to improve the acceptance of the pope, at least among the Romans. It was a short stay as Pope Gregory XI died a few months later and was buried in S. Francesca Romana. S. Francesca Romana : Monument to Pope Gregory XI: relief portraying his arrival in Rome In 1584 the municipality of Rome built a monument to celebrate Pope Gregory XI and his return to Rome; the decision can be regarded as an indirect homage to the pope of the time, another Gregory (XIII). The monument was designed by Pietro Paolo Olivieri who in a large relief portrayed the arrival of the pope at Porta S.

Paolo where he was greeted by a personification of Rome. Behind the pope one can see a series of cardinals. During the period the popes spent in Avignon the role and power of the cardinals grew significantly: they were in charge of the most important branches of the administration or they were sent as legate (governors) to the main towns of the papal state. The Curia became a very large body, not very different from the court of a king of a major European nation. Its maintenance required significant financial resources; the cardinals too had a personal court and they exploited their offices to find the means to maintain it. This large financial burden had a significant impact on the events which eventually led to the Reformation. Iconography The following links show works of art portraying characters and events mentioned in this page: Pope Gregory XI - Encyclopedia Volume - Catholic Encyclopedia - Catholic Online Catholic Encyclopedia Pope Gregory XI (PIERRE ROGER DE BEAUFORT). Born in 1331, at the castle of Maumont in the Dioceses of Limoges ; died 27 March, 1378, at Rome.

He was a nephew of Pope Clement VI, who heaped numerous benefices upon him and finally created him cardinal deacon in 1348, when he was only eighteen years of age. As cardinal he attended the University of Perugia, became a skilled canonist and theologian, and gained the esteem of all by his humility and purity of heart. After the death of Urban V, the cardinals unanimously elected him pope at Avignon, on December, 1370. He chose the name of Gregory XI, had himself ordained priest on 4 January, 1371, and was crowned pope on the following day. Immediately on his accession he attempted to reconcile the Kings of France and England, but failed. He succeeded, however, in pacifying Castile, Aragon, Navarre, Sicily, and Naples. He also made efforts towards the reunion of the Greek and Latin Churches, the undertaking of a crusade, and the reform of the clergy. Soon, however, he had to give his entire attention to the turbulent affairs of Italy.

Duke Bernabo Visconti of Milan, an inveterate enemy of the papacy, had in 1371 made himself master of Reggio and other places that were feudatory to the Holy See. When all other means to bring him to terms had failed, Gregory XI placed him under the ban. Bernabo compelled the legates that brought him the Bull of excommunication to eat the parchment on which his excommunication was written, and heaped many other insults upon them. Hereupon Gregory XI declared war upon him in 1372. Success was at first on the side of Bernabo, but when Gregory XI obtained the support of the emperor, the Queen of Naples, the King of Hungary, and bought into his service the English condottiere John Hawkwood, Bernabo sued for peace. By bribing some of the papal councillors he obtained a favourable truce on 6 June, 1374. Like the preceding popes of Avignon, Gregory XI made the fatal mistake of appointing Frenchmen, who did not understand the Italians and whom the Italians hated, as legates and governors of the ecclesiastical provinces in Italy.

The Florentines, however, feared that a strengthening of the papal power in Italy would impair their own prestige in Central Italy and allied themselves with Bernabo in July, 1375. Both Bernabo and the Florentines did their utmost to stir up an insurrection in the pontifical territory among all those that were dissatisfied with the papal legates in Italy. They were so successful that within a short time the entire Patrimony of St. Peter was up in arms against the pope. Highly incensed at the seditious proceedings of the Florentines, Gregory XI imposed an extremely severe punishment upon them. He put Florence under interdict, excommunicated its inhabitants, and outlawed them and their possessions. The financial loss which the Florentines sustained thereby was inestimable. They sent St. Catherine of Siena to intercede for them with Gregory XI, but frustrated her efforts by continuing their hostilities against the pope. In the midst of these disturbances Gregory XI, yielding to the urgent prayers of St. Catherine, decided to remove the papal see to Rome, despite the protests of the French King and the majority of the cardinals.

He left Avignon on 13 September, 1376, boarded the ship at Marsailles on 2 October, and came by way of Genoa to Corneto on 6 December. Here he remained until arrangements were made in Rome concerning its future government. On 13 January, 1377, he left Corneto, landed at Ostia on the following day, and sailed up the Tiber to the monastery of San Paolo, from where he solemnly made his entrance into Rome on 17 January. But his return to Rome did not put an end to the hostilities. The notorious massacre of Cesena, which was ordered by Cardinal Robert of Geneva (afterwards antipope Clement VII ), embittered the Italians still more against the pope. The continuous riots in Rome induced Gregory XI to remove to Anagui towards the end of May, 1377. He gradually quelled the commotion and returned to Rome on 7 Nov., 1377, where he died while a congress of peace was in process at Sarzano. Gregory XI was the last pope of French nationality. He was learned and pious, though not free from nepotism.

In 1374 he approved the Order of the Spanish Hermits of St. Jerome , and on 22 May, 1377, he issued five Bulls in which the errors of Wyclif were condemned. He was so disgusted with the conditions at Rome that only death prevented him from returning to Avignon. The Great Schism began after his death. Pope Gregory XII - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Pope Gregory XII Posthumous style None Pope Gregory XII (c. 1326 – 18 October 1417), born Angelo Correr or Corraro, was Pope from 1406 to 1415. He succeeded Pope Innocent VII on 30 November 1406. His forced abdication ended the Western Schism .

Contents [ edit ] Election Gregory was chosen at Rome in 1406 by a conclave consisting of only fifteen cardinals under the express condition that, should Antipope Benedict XIII (1394–1423), the rival papal claimant at Avignon , renounce all claim to the Papacy , he would also renounce his, so that a fresh election might be made and the Western Schism (1378–1417) ended. [ edit ] Negotiations to end the schism The two pontiffs opened wary negotiations to meet on neutral turf at Savona in Liguria , but soon began to waver in their resolve. The Correr relatives of Gregory XII in Venice and King Ladislaus of Naples , the supporter of Gregory XII and his predecessor for political reasons, used all their influence to prevent the meeting, and each Pope feared being captured by the partisans of the rival Pope. The cardinals of Gregory XII openly showed their dissatisfaction at this manoeuvring and gave signs of their intention to abandon him. On 4 May 1408, Gregory XII convened his cardinals at Lucca and ordered them not to leave the city under any pretext.

He tried to supplement his following by creating four of his Correr nephews cardinals – including the future Pope Eugene IV , despite his promise in the conclave that he would create no new cardinals. Seven of the cardinals secretly left Lucca and negotiated with the cardinals of Benedict XIII concerning the convocation of a general council by them, at which both pontiffs should be deposed and a new one elected. Consequently they summoned the council to Pisa and invited both pontiffs to be present. Neither Gregory XII nor Benedict XIII appeared. Meanwhile Gregory XII stayed with his loyal and powerful protector, the condottiero Carlo I Malatesta , who had come to Pisa in person during the process of the council to support Gregory XII with both sets of cardinals. At the fifteenth session, 5 June 1409, the Council of Pisa deposed the two pontiffs as schismatical, heretical, perjured, and scandalous; they elected Alexander V (1409–10) later that month. Gregory XII, who had meanwhile created ten more cardinals, had convoked a rival council at Cividale del Friuli , near Aquileia ; but only a few bishops appeared.

Gregory XII's cardinals pronounced Benedict XIII and Alexander V schismatics, perjurers, and devastators of the Church, but their pronouncement went unheeded. [ edit ] Resolution of the schism The Council of Constance finally resolved the situation. Gregory XII appointed Carlo Malatesta and Cardinal Giovanni Dominici of Ragusa as his proxies. The cardinal then convoked the council and authorized its succeeding acts, thus preserving the formulas of Papal supremacy . Thereupon on 4 July 1415, Malatesta, acting in the name of Gregory XII, pronounced the resignation of the Pope, which the cardinals accepted. According to prior agreement, they agreed to retain all the cardinals that had been created by Gregory XII, thus satisfying the Correr clan, and appointed Gregory XII Bishop of Frascati , Dean of the Sacred College of Cardinals and perpetual legate at Ancona . The Council then set aside Antipope John XXIII (1410–15), the successor of Alexander V. After the former follower of Benedict XIII appeared, the council declared him deposed; and the Great Schism was ended. A new Roman pontiff, Pope Martin V , was not elected before Gregory's death.

Therefore, the Papal seat was vacant . [ edit ] Retirement The rest of Gregory XII's life was spent in peaceful obscurity in Ancona . He was the last pope to abdicate, pending Benedict XVI 's scheduled abdication on 28 February 2013 . [1] Learn and talk about Pope Gregory XI, 14th-century French people, 14th-century Roman Catholic bishops, 14th-century popes, Avignon Papacy Papacy[ edit ] During his pontificate, vigorous measures (e.g., burning at the stake , confiscation of property) were taken against proponents of Lollardy , which had found acceptance in Germany , England , and other parts of Europe . Efforts were made to reform corrupt practices in the various monastic orders , such as collecting fees from persons visiting holy sites and the exhibiting of faux relics of saints. Gregory confirmed a treaty between Sicily and Naples at Villeneuve-lès-Avignon on 20 August 1372, which brought about a permanent settlement between the rival kingdoms, which were both papal fiefs.

[4] John Wycliffe 's 19 reformation articles on church-related items as he wrote in his On Civil Dominion [5] and 21 proposed reformation articles of Johannes Klenkok 's Decadicon [6] that he wrote against the Sachsenspiegel law-book. The Decadicon was submitted to Pope Gregory XI in the early part of the 1370s by French canonist and cardinal of the Curia Pierre de la Vergne. Gregory formally condemned fourteen articles of the Sachsenspiegel in 1374 [7] and nineteen propositions of Wycliffe's On Civil Dominion in 1377. [5] His decision to return to Rome is supposedly attributed in part to the incessant pleas, demands, and threats of Catherine of Siena . [8] A return had been attempted by Gregory's predecessor, Urban V, but the demands of the Hundred Years' War brought him north of the Alps again, and Avignon was still the seat of the Bishop of Rome. The project of returning again to Rome was delayed by a conflict between the pope and Florence , known as the War of the Eight Saints .

The pope put Florence under interdict during 1376. The return of the Curia to Rome began on 13 September 1376 and was concluded with the arrival of Gregory XI on 17 January 1377. [9] [10] [11] Death[ edit ] Gregory XI did not long survive this trip, dying in Rome on 27 March 1378. [12] He was buried the following day in the church of Santa Maria Nuova . [13] After his death the College of Cardinals was pressured by a Roman mob that broke into the voting chamber to force an Italian pope into the papacy. [14] The Italian chosen was Urban VI . Soon after being elected, Urban gained the Cardinals' enmity. [15] The cardinals withdrew from Rome to Fondi , where they annulled their election of Urban and elected a French pope, Clement VII , [15] before returning to Avignon in 1378. Subsequently, the Western Schism created by the selection of rival popes forced the people of Europe into a dilemma of papal allegiance.

This schism was not resolved fully until the Council of Constance (1414–1418) was called by a group of cardinals. Boldly, the council deposed both current popes and, in 1417, elected Martin V as their successor. The chaos of the Western Schism thus brought about reforming councils and gave them the power over who was elected, replacing (for a time) the College of Cardinals. Original courtesy of Wikipedia: — Please support Wikipedia. This page uses Creative Commons Licensed content from Wikipedia . A portion of the proceeds from advertising on Digplanet goes to supporting Wikipedia. We're sorry, but there's no news about "Pope Gregory XI" right now. Limit to books that you can completely read online Include partial books (book previews) Oops, we seem to be having trouble contacting Twitter Support Wikipedia A portion of the proceeds from advertising on Digplanet goes to supporting Wikipedia. Please add your support for Wikipedia! Searchlight Group Digplanet also receives support from Searchlight Group. Visit Searchlight Copyright © 2009-2016 Digparty. All rights reserved.

Avignon Papacy - When the Popes Resided in France By Melissa Snell Definition of the Avignon Papacy: The term "Avignon Papacy" refers to the Catholic papacy during the period 1309-1377, when the popes lived in and operated out of Avignon, France, instead of their traditional home in Rome. The Avignon Papacy was also known as: The Babylon Captivity (a reference to the forced detention of Jews in Babylonia c. 598 B.C.E.) Origins of the Avignon Papacy: Philip IV of France was instrumental in securing the election of Clement V, a Frenchman, to the papacy in 1305. This was an unpopular outcome in Rome, where factionalism made Clement's life as pope stressful. To escape the oppressive atmosphere, in 1309 Clement chose to move the papal capital to Avignon, which was the property of papal vassals at that time. The French Nature of the Avignon Papacy: The majority of the men that Clement V appointed as cardinals were French; and since the cardinals elected the pope, this meant that future popes were likely to be French, as well.

continue reading below our video 10 Best Universities in the United States All seven of the Avignonese popes and 111 of the 134 cardinals created during the Avignon papacy were French. Although the Avignonese popes were able to maintain a measure of independence, the French kings did exert some influence from time to time, and the appearance of French influence on the papacy, whether real or not, was undeniable. The Avignonese Popes: 1370-1378: Gregory XI Achievements of the Avignon Papacy: The popes were not idle during their time in France. Some of them made sincere efforts to improve the situation of the Catholic Church and to achieve peace in Christendom. Among their achievements: The administrative offices and other agencies of the papacy were extensively, and effectively, reorganized and centralized. Missionary enterprises were expanded; ultimately, they would reach as far as China. University education was promoted. The College of Cardinals began to strengthen their role in the government of church affairs. Attempts were made to settle secular conflicts.

The Avignon Papacy's Poor Reputation: The Avignon popes were not as much under the control of the French kings as it has been charged (or as the kings would have liked). However, some popes did bow to royal pressure, as Clement V did to a degree in the matter of the Templars . And although Avignon belonged to the papacy (it was purchased from papal vassals in 1348), there was nevertheless the perception that it belonged to France, and that the popes were therefore beholden to the French Crown for their livelihoods. In addition, the Papal States in Italy now had to answer to French authorities. Italian interests in the papacy had in past centuries resulted in just as much corruption as in Avignon, if not more so, but this did not stop Italians from attacking the Avignon popes with fervor. One particularly vociferous critic was Petrarch , who had spent spent most of his childhood in Avignon and, after taking minor orders, was to spend more time there in clerical service. In a famous letter to a friend, he described Avignon as the "Babylon of the West," a sentiment that took hold in the imagination of future scholars.

The End of the Avignon Papacy: Both Catherine of Siena and St. Bridget of Sweden are credited with persuading Pope Gregory XI to return the See to Rome. This he did on Jan. 17, 1377. But Gregory's stay in Rome was plagued with hostilities, and he seriously considered returning to Avignon. Before he could make any move, however, he died in March, 1378. The Avignon Papacy had officially ended. Repercussions of the Avignon Papacy: When Gregory XI moved the See back to Rome, he did so over the objections of the cardinals in France. The man elected to succeed him, Urban VI, was so hostile to the cardinals that 13 of them met to choose another pope, who, far from replacing Urban, could only stand in opposition to him. Thus began the Western Schism (a.k.a. the Great Schism), in which two popes and two papal curias existed simultaneously for another four decades. The bad reputation of the Avignon administration, whether deserved or not, would damage the prestige of the papacy. Many Christians were already facing crises of faith thanks to the problems encountered during and after the Black Death .

The gulf between the Catholic Church and lay Christians seeking spiritual guidance would only widen. Historically Irrelevant | The Western Schism The Western Schism The resignation of Pope Benedict XVI has, to put it mildly, come as a surprise to many across the world. It has also turned eyes back to the last pope to resign almost 600 years ago: Pope Gregory XII, who resigned in 1415. The circumstances of Pope Benedict’s resignation have been cited as health issues, but Gregory’s resignation was a bit… messier. 1 To understand why he resigned and the circumstances regarding his departure, we must first delve back into understanding what the Papacy used to be. The Vatican as we know it in the 21st century is vastly different from its 15th century relative. First and foremost, the Papacy was a secular as well as religious body. It frequently wrestled with the Holy Roman Empire for secular domination of Christendom’s forces. It commanded armies and led Crusades. Pope Julius II, who reigned a century after Gregory XII, has been dubbed the warrior pope because he led the Papal armies on the battlefield.

2 The Papacy had real political clout; it did much more than simply directing the spiritual positions of the Catholic Church as it does today. And with this in mind we enter the world of the 1300’s. In 1305, after much deliberation, the Conclave 3 selected a French pope, Clement V. Clement, so fond of his French heritage, declined to move to Rome and instead decided to set up his Papal court in the French city of Avignon. 4 Referred to by many as the “Babylonian Captivity,” the Papacy spent the next 67 years in Avignon rather than Rome, seeing seven (French) [opes reign and die on French soil. As to be expected, the popes of Avignon became steadily more corrupt and more connected to the French crown, much to the chagrin of the rest of the continent. Hence, Pope Gregory XI decided to end his stay in Avignon and returned the Papacy to its seat in Rome during the winter of 1377. 5 Pope Gregory XI died soon after, and the Romans clamored for the Conclave to elect a Italian pope.

It had been eight popes since the last Italian—a rather long period of time for the Papacy to be vacant an Italian seat. So came about the appointment of Pope Urban VI in 1388. The cardinals soon began to regret their decision, for Urban VI was incompetent, to say the least. 6 He attempted too many reforms for the Conclave’s liking, and was prone to violent outbursts due to his uncontrollable temper. Attempting to rectify the situation, the majority of the Conclave fled Rome for the Italian city of Anagni and elected a new pope: Pope Clement VII. Clement, knowing it was not safe to stay in Italy, packed his bags and set up court back in the old Papal city of Avignon, France. 7 This was not the first time two claimants to the papacy had shown up. Popes and antipopes 8 had been vying for the throne ever since the 5th century. However, this was the first time that two popes had been elected by the same Conclave. This posed an issue for Christendom: which Pope was legitimate? Both had the same claim to power for they were both given power by the same body.

No theological issues characterized this Western Schism 9 ; rather, it was a purely political split. In fact, the two popes split Europe right in half. The French, Spanish, Neapolitans, and Scots supported Clement VII of Avignon, whilst the English, Venetians, Germans (the Holy Roman Empire at the time), and Nordic countries backed Urban VI of Rome. The split even caused a few conflicts, mostly centered in the Iberian Peninsula between the Avignon-supporting Spaniards and the Roman-loving English and Portuguese. 10 The split continued long after the deaths of each initial claimant; Pope Boniface IX was coronated in 1389 in Rome whilst the Avignon antipope Benedict XIII rose to power in 1394. The problem posed a rather tricky one for Church intellectuals to solve. Canon law stated that only a pope can call council to solve a Church crisis of claimants, but neither pope was willing to do so. Eventually, a few ecclesiastical lawyers found their way around the problem by claiming that the Church could flaunt their own laws when the well-being of the Church itself was at stake, and called a council at Pisa in 1409.

Comically, the council went horribly wrong and they somehow ended up electing another antipope by the name of Pope Alexander V. He died a year later, and John XXIII rose to take his place. 11 By this time in 1410, there were now three claimants to the papal seat. Pope Benedict XIII reigned in Avignon, Gregory XII in Rome, and John XXIII in Pisa. Each had their own supporters, their own court, and made their own theological decisions. Needless to say, the Catholic Church was in a state of utter disarray. Finally, the Catholic Church was able to organize another council that miraculously solved the crisis rather than appointing another antipope. The Council of Constance convened in 1414 and had a number of sweeping proclamations. It first secured the resignations of the Pisa pope, John XXIII, and the Roman pope, Gregory XII. Gregory XII has the distinction of being the most modern pope to resign 12 , and is the reason why this post is being written at all. The council failed to get the Avignon pope, Benedict XIII, to resign, so they excommunicated 13 him instead.

He soon fell into irrelevance with only the Kingdom of Aragon in Spain still supporting him. With the three popes essentially eliminated, the Council of Constance then appointed a new pope to take up the reigns of the Church and restore it to unity. This pope, Pope Martin V, was almost universally supported by the secular leaders of Europe, tired of the decades of infighting the schism had caused. 14 The Council of Constance ended the Western Schism in a very subtle yet clever way. By getting rid of all three popes and appointing a single new leader, they never legitimized any of the three claimants. This avoided insulting any of the backers of any one of the three, and helped to keep church unity. Even today, the “official popes” of the Western Schism are unclear. The Catholic Church has never made a clear pronouncement on the issue, so the line of succession is still in question. The Western Schism, and indeed the Avignon Papacy, are generally agreed to be massive contributing factors to the dissatisfaction with the Church leading to the Protestant Reformation some centuries later.

The Southern games of the Italians and French disturbed the Germans and northern countries, who were disillusioned with the corrupt nature of the Church after the two events. 15 The Western Schism can be seen as the beginning of the end of the Catholic Church’s absolute dominance over medieval Europe. So long as Pope Benedict XVI has no ambitions of founding his own church or challenging his successor as an antipope, it’s guaranteed that his resignation will be void of the controversy and messiness that defined Gregory XII abdication from power.

Question: Pope Gregory XI was the last Pope to live in which French city?
Answer: Avignon