Pope Innocent VI ( la, Innocentius VI; 1282 or 1295 – 12 September 1362), born Étienne Aubert, was head of the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwide . It is am ...

and ruler of the

Papal States The Papal States ( ; it, Stato Pontificio, ), officially the State of the Church ( it, Stato della Chiesa, ; la, Status Ecclesiasticus;), were a series of territories in the Italian Peninsula under the direct sovereign rule of the pope fro ...

from 18 December 1352 to his death in September 1362. He was the fifth Avignon pope and the only one with the pontifical name of "Innocent".

Early life

Étienne's father was Adhemar Aubert (1260-?), seigneur de

Montel-de-Gelat Montel-de-Gelat (; oc, Le Montelh de Gelat) is a commune in the Puy-de-Dôme department in Auvergne in central France. See also *Communes of the Puy-de-Dôme department * Saint Eloy's mines The mines of Saint-Éloy-les-Mines are coal and silver ...

in Limousin province. He was a native of the hamlet of Les Monts, Diocese of Limoges (today part of the commune of

Beyssac Beyssac (; oc, Baissac) is a commune of the Corrèze department in central France. Population Personalities Beyssac was the birthplace of Étienne Aubert (1282 or 1295–1362), who became pope as Pope Innocent VI, and of Suzanne Lacore � ...

, ''

département In the administrative divisions of France, the department (french: département, ) is one of the three levels of government under the national level (" territorial collectivities"), between the administrative regions and the communes. Ninety ...

'' of

Corrèze Corrèze (; oc, Corresa) is a department in France, named after the river Corrèze which runs through it. Although its prefecture is Tulle, its most populated city is Brive-la-Gaillarde. Corrèze is located in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine regio ...

), and, after having taught civil law at

Toulouse Toulouse ( , ; oc, Tolosa ) is the prefecture of the French department of Haute-Garonne and of the larger region of Occitania. The city is on the banks of the River Garonne, from the Mediterranean Sea, from the Atlantic Ocean and fr ...

, he became successively Bishop of Noyon in 1338 and Bishop of Clermont in 1340. On 20 September 1342, he was raised to the position of

Cardinal 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, t ...

Priest of SS. John and Paul. He was made cardinal-bishop of Ostia and Velletri on 13 February 1352, by Pope Clement VI, whom he succeeded.Conrad Eubel, ''Hierarchia catholica'' Tomus I, editio altera (Monasterii 1913), p. 36; p. 18.

His papacy

Etienne was crowned pope on 30 December 1352 by Cardinal Gaillard de la Mothe after the papal conclave of 1352. Upon his election, he revoked a signed agreement stating the college of cardinals was superior to the pope. His subsequent policy compares favourably with that of the other Avignon Popes. He introduced many needed reforms in the administration of church affairs, and through his legate, Cardinal Albornoz, who was accompanied by

Rienzi ' (''Rienzi, the last of the tribunes''; WWV 49) is an early opera by Richard Wagner in five acts, with the libretto written by the composer after Edward Bulwer-Lytton's novel of the same name (1835). The title is commonly shortened to ''Ri ...

, he sought to restore order 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 ...

. In 1355, Charles IV, Holy Roman Emperor, was crowned in Rome with Innocent's permission, after having made an oath that he would quit the city on the day of the ceremony. It was largely through the exertions of Innocent VI that the Treaty of Brétigny (1360) between

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

and

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

was brought about. During his pontificate, the Byzantine emperor

John V Palaeologus John V Palaiologos or Palaeologus ( el, Ἰωάννης Παλαιολόγος, ''Iōánnēs Palaiológos''; 18 June 1332 – 16 February 1391) was Byzantine emperor from 1341 to 1391, with interruptions. Biography John V was the son of E ...

offered to submit the Greek Orthodox Church to the

Roman See The Holy See ( lat, Sancta Sedes, ; it, Santa Sede ), also called the See of Rome, Petrine See or Apostolic See, is the jurisdiction of the Pope in his role as the bishop of Rome. It includes the apostolic episcopal see of the Diocese of Rome ...

in return for assistance against John VI Cantacuzenus. The resources at the disposal of the Pope, however, were all required for exigencies nearer home, and the offer was declined. Most of the wealth accumulated by John XXII and Benedict XII had been lost during the extravagant pontificate of Clement VI. Innocent VI economised by cutting the chapel staff (''capellani capelle'') from twelve to eight. Works of art were sold rather than commissioned. His pontificate was dominated by the war in Italy and by Avignon's recovery from the plague, both of which made draining demands on his treasury. By 1357, he was complaining of poverty. Innocent VI was a liberal patron of letters. If the extreme severity of his measures against the Fraticelli is ignored, he retains a high reputation for justice and mercy. However, St. Bridget of Sweden denounced him as a persecutor of Christians. He died on 12 September 1362 and was succeeded by Urban V. Today, his tomb can be found in the Chartreuse du Val de Bénédiction, the

Carthusian The Carthusians, also known as the Order of Carthusians ( la, Ordo Cartusiensis), are a Latin enclosed religious order of the Catholic Church. The order was founded by Bruno of Cologne in 1084 and includes both monks and nuns. The order has i ...

monastery in Villeneuve-lès-Avignon.

Notes

References

*''Modified text from the 9th edition (1879) of an unnamed encyclopedia'' *Tomasello, ''Music and Ritual at Papal Avignon 1309–1403.'' Ann Arbor, Michigan: UMI Research Press, 1983. *Louis XI (king of France),Josepf Frederic, Louis Vaesen,Etienne Charavay,Bernard Edouard de Mandrot-1905.(Googles livres) *Societe' d'etudes de la province de Cambrai,Lille-1907 *Antoine Pellisier (1961). ''Innocent VI :le reformateur, deuxième pape Limousin (1352–1362)'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Innocent 06 1282 births 1362 deaths People from Corrèze Popes French popes Cardinal-bishops of Ostia Bishops of Noyon Bishops of Clermont Avignon Papacy House of Aubert 14th-century French Roman Catholic bishops Major Penitentiaries of the Apostolic Penitentiary 14th-century popes 14th-century peers of France