On this date… 17 January 1377
Papacy returns to Rome
The Bishop of Rome holds a special place in the Catholic Church. Officially one of approximately 5600 bishops around the world, the man (and it’s always a man, there are no female clergy in the Catholic church) who holds the title Bishop of Rome is also known as the Pope. Though all bishops are supposed to have the same rank within the church, even from its earliest days of Saint Peter, the Bishop of Rome was granted several privileges, notably the primacy of the position. Of course, “pope” is still a common form of address for clergy in many Eastern Orthodox Churches, as well as the Coptic Church in Alexandria.
Like other ministers who oversee their diocese, the Bishop of Rome resides in his specific governing jurisdiction. Except for a period of more than 65 years in the 1300s when he didn’t.
Known as the “Avignon Papacy,” from 1305 to 1376, seven “Bishops of Rome” instead lived in Avignon, which at the time was legally part of the Holy Roman Empire – though in practice was under French control – and is now officially part of France. This temporary separation ended on this date, 17 January 1377, when Pope Gregory XI arrived in Rome.
Anyone have a guess as to why the papacy would have moved to Avignon in the first place? Anyone? Anyone? Bueller? Bueller? If you said “power struggle,” you’ve been paying attention to previous “On This Date” posts (or just understand human psychology), gold star!
This particular power struggle began as a dispute between the Pope, the Holy Roman Emperor, and the King of France over which of them was the leader of Christendom in secular matters. While always the acknowledged leader in spiritual matters (in the West, at least), the Pope slowly gained political and secular powers, including controlling territories in the Italian Peninsula known as the Papal States. Elsewhere, the supremacy of the papacy in secular matters was evident when he called for the Crusades in the 11th, 12th, and early 13th centuries, to which the political leaders in Christendom responded in force. It came to a head in November 1302 when Pope Boniface VIII issued a papal bull, or public decree, the Unam sanctam, that said “it is necessary to salvation that every human creature be subject to the Roman pontiff.”
Both the Holy Roman Emperor and King of France had disputes with the Pope. In theory the pope had the power to legitimize the ruler of the Holy Roman Empire by acknowledging them, or delegitimize their rule through excommunication. Emperor Frederick II controlled massive lands in Sicily, Italy, Germany, and throughout the Holy Lands, including Jerusalem. This power brought him into conflict with various popes, so much so that he was twice excommunicated and after Frederick’s death in 1250 even a few of his successors were not “officially” crowned Emperor until 1312.
Meanwhile, King Philip IV of France, thinking he was a good and true vassal of the pope and therefore deserving of some of the pope’s money and authority, wanted to use the finances of the Church to pay for his war with the English. Pope Boniface disagreed, issuing that papal bull, Unam sanctam. He also threatened to excommunicate Philip but before he could draw up the papers, some of Philip’s allies beat Pope Boniface, who died a short time later due to his wounds.
Exemplifying his influence, Philip managed to pull strings so that his friend, Frenchman Bertrand de Got, was elected pope in 1305. Upon election de Got took the name Pope Clement V. In part to show his loyalty to his friend, and in part to get away from corrupt Italian clergy, Clement moved the Roman Curia, or papal administration and governance, first to Poitiers in 1305 and then to Avignon in 1309. Clement also filled key administrative roles with French friends and family members, which did not sit well with his Italian counterparts. While not completely puppets of Philip and subsequent French kings, the seven Avignon popes – all French born – were nonetheless closely aligned with French interests.
By 1377 the last Avignon pope, Gregory XI, was facing opposition from numerous sources both inside and outside the Church, moved the Papal Curia back to Rome. The French court, as one would expect, was not happy with the decision. When Gregory died in 1378, both Italian and French cardinals held separate elections to name a new pope, creating a schism in the Church that lasted until 1417 when a new pope both sides could agree on was elected. The Papacy has lived in Rome (and now technically in Vatican City) ever since.