Christ's Faithful People
Christ's Faithful People
1370 - 1378 AD
If ever a youngster could have been spoiled by early honors, it was Pierre Roger de Beaufort who became Pope Gregory XI. The nephew of Clement VI, he was skyrocketed to ecclesiastical honors. A canon at eleven, he was a cardinal at nineteen. But Pierre was not spoiled. After receiving the red hat he calmly went to class at the University of Perugia where he made a reputation for goodness and learning. His ability and his sweet disposition probably explain how he, though a Limousin, was elected pope unanimously.
The story of Gregory XI is the drama of his return to Rome. Though Gregory dearly loved France and his family, he was a man of principle and from the start proclaimed his intention of going to Rome. But obstacles and opposition kept piling up as the years moved along. The Pope was desperately hard pressed for means. Papal taxation was bitterly resented, and Gregory actually at one time had to pawn the crown jewels. He tried to make peace between France and England. Bernabo Visconti, the monster of Milan, kept Northern Italy in turmoil until 1375, and then Florence, allied with rebel cities of the Pope's own kingdom, rocked central Italy with warfare.
Meanwhile cardinals and curia officials used every argument and took advantage of every excuse to delay the Pope's going. Charles V of France sent his own brother to plead with the Pope; even more powerfully and steadily Gregory's own family battered at his will with their love. And if Gregory had a fault, it was undue fondness for his family.
On the other hand, to strengthen his good resolution came mystic messages from St. Brigit of Sweden, messages with a double refrain: Rome, Peace. And when St. Brigit died in 1373, St. Catherine of Siena continued to fire the Pope's will with burning words. In 1376 this amazing nun arrived at Avignon as a peace ambassadress from Florence. She treated Pope, cardinals, and courtiers to downright plain speaking. Gregory was upbraided for his inordinate love of his relatives. The good Pope took the scolding meekly, and at long last set September 13, 1376, as the date of departure. When on that day the Pope reached the door, he found his father, the count de Beaufort, waiting for him. In a last desperate gesture of pleading, the Pope's father threw himself across the threshold. Gregory, his heart torn, courageously stepped over the old man. With this act of obedience to Christ's command to hate one's father, the Avignon exile of the papacy came to an end.
Gregory reached Rome on January 17, 1377, but it was to be no haven of peace. Florence, in league with rebellious papal cities, was battling furiously. Gregory had hit back hard with an interdict, but though the Florentines felt the pinch, they fought on. Throughout 1377 Italy ran with blood. Cardinal Robert of Geneva and his Breton mercenaries disgraced the papal arms by the butchery of Cesena. At last in 1378 a congress gathered at Sarzana to bring peace to Italy, but before it could finish Gregory was dead.
Gregory's stay in Rome had not been happy. He longed for the peace of Avignon. Never robust, his health declined rapidly and on March 28,1378, Gregory XI died.
