The 1370 papal conclave (December 29–30), held after the death of

Pope Urban V Pope Urban V ( la, Urbanus V; 1310 – 19 December 1370), born Guillaume de Grimoard, was the head of the Catholic Church from 28 September 1362 until his death in December 1370 and was also a member of the Order of Saint Benedict. He was the on ...

, elected as his successor Cardinal Pierre Roger de Beaufort, who under the name

Gregory XI Pope Gregory XI ( la, Gregorius, born Pierre Roger de Beaufort; c. 1329 – 27 March 1378) was head of the Catholic Church from 30 December 1370 to his death in March 1378. He was the seventh and last Avignon pope and the most recent French pop ...

became seventh and the last pope of the period of

Avignon Papacy The Avignon Papacy was the period from 1309 to 1376 during which seven successive popes resided in Avignon – at the time within the Kingdom of Burgundy-Arles, Kingdom of Arles, part of the Holy Roman Empire; now part of France – rather than i ...

List of participants

Urban V died on December 20, 1370, at

Avignon Avignon (, ; ; oc, Avinhon, label=Provençal dialect, Provençal or , ; la, Avenio) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Vaucluse Departments of France, department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region of So ...

. He was the first pope who resided in

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

since 1304, although only for a short time (1367 until the beginning of 1370, when he returned to Avignon). At the time of his death, there were 20 living

cardinals Cardinal or The Cardinal may refer to: Animals * Cardinal (bird) or Cardinalidae, a family of North and South American birds **''Cardinalis'', genus of cardinal in the family Cardinalidae **''Cardinalis cardinalis'', or northern cardinal, the ...

. Eighteen of them participated in the conclave: Nine electors were created by Pope Urban V, five by Clement VI and four by Innocent VI. Post of the

Camerlengo of the Holy Roman Church The Camerlengo of the Holy Roman Church is an office of the papal household that administers the property and revenues of the Holy See. Formerly, his responsibilities included the fiscal administration of the Patrimony of Saint Peter. As regul ...

, the most important during

sede vacante ''Sede vacante'' ( in Latin.) is a term for the state of a diocese while without a bishop. In the canon law of the Catholic Church, the term is used to refer to the vacancy of the bishop's or Pope's authority upon his death or resignation. Hi ...

, was occupied by

Arnaud Aubert Arnaud Aubert (died 11 June 1371) was nephew of Pope Innocent VI, who appointed him Bishop of Agde (1354), then Bishop of Carcassonne (1354–57) and finally Archbishop of Auch (from January 1357 until his death). He was Camerlengo of the Holy Rom ...

archbishop of Auch The Archdiocese of Auch-Condom-Lectoure-Lombez (Latin: ''Archidioecesis Auxitana-Condomiensis-Lectoriensis-Lomberiensis''; French: ''Archidiocèse d'Auch-Condom-Lectoure-Lombez''), more commonly known as the Archdiocese of Auch, is a Latin Churc ...

and nephew of Pope Innocent VI (but not a Cardinal).

Absentees

Two Cardinals, both created by Urban V, did not participate in this conclave, because they were in Italy:

The election of Pope Gregory XI

Eighteen cardinals present in Avignon entered the conclave on December 29. In the first ballot on the next day in the morning Cardinal Pierre Roger de Beaufort, nephew of

Clement VI Pope Clement VI ( la, Clemens VI; 1291 – 6 December 1352), born Pierre Roger, was head of the Catholic Church from 7 May 1342 to his death in December 1352. He was the fourth Avignon pope. Clement reigned during the first visitation of the Bla ...

, protodeacon of the Sacred College, was unanimously elected Pope. He initially opposed his election but eventually accepted and took the name of

. On January 2, 1371 he was ordained to the priesthood, and on January 3 he was consecrated

bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

of Rome by the

dean of the College of Cardinals The dean of the College of Cardinals ( la, Decanus Collegii Sanctae Romanae Ecclesiae Cardinalium) presides over the College of Cardinals in the Roman Catholic Church, serving as '' primus inter pares'' (first among equals). The position was establ ...

Guy de Boulogne Guy of Boulogne (1313 – 25 November 1373) was a statesman and cardinal who served the Avignon Papacy for 33 years. He participated in the papal conclaves of 1352, 1362 and 1370, and was the Subdean of the Sacred College of Cardinals. His dipl ...

, and crowned by the new protodeacon Rinaldo Orsini in the cathedral

Notre Dame des Doms Avignon Cathedral (French: ''Cathédrale Notre-Dame des Doms d'Avignon'') is a Roman Catholic church located next to the Palais des Papes in Avignon, France. The cathedral is the seat of the Archbishop of Avignon. The cathedral is a Romanesque ...

in Avignon.

References

Sources

Salvador Miranda: list of participants of the papal conclave of 1370

* G. Mollat, The Popes at Avignon 1305-1378, London 1963 {{Subject bar , portal1= Catholicism , portal2= Christianity , portal3= Vatican City , portal4= France , b=y, b-search=Biblical Studies/Christianity/Roman Catholicism/History , commons=y, commons-search=Papal conclave , n=y, n-search=Roman Catholic Church , q=y, q-search=Popes , s=y, s-search=Popes , v=y, v-search=Christian History , wikt=y, wikt-search=Pope , d=y

1370 Year 1370 ( MCCCLXX) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events January–December * April 9 – Timur becomes first Amir of the Timurid Empire, following the Siege o ...

14th-century elections 1370 Avignon Papacy 14th-century Catholicism 14th century in Europe