[THE CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA]
Pope Bl. Urban V
Guillaume de Grimoard, born at Grisac in Languedoc, 1310; died at Avignon,
19 December, 1370. Born of a knightly family, he was educated at
Montpellier and Toulouse, and became a Benedictine monk at the little
priory of Chirac near his home. A Bull of 1363 informs us that he was
professed at the great Abbey of St. Victor at Marseilles, where he imbibed
his characteristic love for the Order of St. Benedict; even as pope he wore
its habit. He was ordained at Chirac, and after a further course of
theology and canon law at the universities of Toulouse, Montpellier, Paris,
and Avignon, he received the doctorate in 1342. He was one of the greatest
canonists of his day; was professor of canon law at Montpellier, and also
taught at Toulouse, Paris, and Avignon; he acted successively as
vicar-general of the Dioceses of Clermont and Uz�s, was at an unknown date
(before 1342) affiliated to Cluny, became prior of Notre-Dame du Pr� (a
priory dependent on St. Germain d'Auxerre), and in 1352 was named abbot of
that famous house by Clement VI. With this date begins his diplomatic
career. His first mission was to Giovanni Visconti, Archbishop and despot
of Milan, and this he carried out successfully; in 1354 and 1360 he was
employed on the affairs of the Holy See in Italy; in 1361 he was appointed
by Innocent VI to the Abbacy of St. Victor at Marseilles, but in 1362 was
once more dispatched to Italy, this time on an embassy to Joanna of Naples.
It was while engaged on this business that the abbot heard of his election
to the papacy. Innocent VI had died on 12 Sept. The choice of one who was
not a cardinal was due to jealousies within the Sacred College, which made
the election of any one of its members almost impossible. Guillaume de
Grimoard was chosen for his virtue and learning, and for his skill in
practical affairs of government and diplomacy. He arrived at Marseilles on
28 Oct., entered Avignon three days later, and was consecrated on 6
November, taking the name of Urban because, as he said, "all the popes who
had borne the name had been saints". The general satisfaction which this
election aroused was voiced by Petrarch, who wrote to the pope, "It is God
alone who has chosen you".
On 20 November King John of France visited Avignon; his main purpose was to
obtain the hand of Joanna of Naples, ward of the Holy See, for his son
Philip, Duke of Touraine. In a letter of 7 November Urban had already
approved her project of marriage with King James of Majorca, a king without
a kingdom; by so doing the pope safeguarded his own independence at
Avignon, which would have been gravely imperilled had the marriage of
Joanna, who was also Countess of Provence, united to the Crown of France
the country surrounding the little papal principality. The letter written
by Urban to Joanna on 29 Nov., urging the marriage with Philip, was
probably meant rather to appease the French king than to persuade the
recipient. The betrothal of the Queen of Naples to James of Majorca was
signed on 14 Dec. The enormous ransom of 3,000,000 gold crowns, due to
Edward III of England from John of France by the treaty of Bretigny, was
still in great part unpaid, and John now sought permission to levy a tithe
on the revenues of the French clergy. Urban refused this request as well as
another for the nomination of four cardinals chosen by the king. John also
desired to intervene between the pope and Barnab� Visconti, tyrant of
Milan. He was again refused, and when Barnab� failed to appear within the
three months allowed by his citation, the pope excommunicated him (3 March,
1363). In April of the same year Visconti was defeated before Bologna.
Peace was concluded in March, 1364; Barnab� restored the castles seized by
him, while Urban withdrew the excommunication and undertook to pay half a
million gold florins.
The Benedictine pope was a lover of peace, and much of his diplomacy was
directed to the pacification of Italy and France. Both countries were
overrun by mercenary bands known as the "Free Companies", and the pope made
many efforts to secure their dispersal or departure. His excommunication
was disregarded and the companies refused to join the distant King of
Hungary in his battles with the Turks although the Emperor Charles IV, who
came to Avignon in May, 1365, guaranteed the expenses of their journey and
offered them the revenues of his kingdom of Bohemia for three years. War
now broke out between Pedro the Cruel of Navarre and his brother Henry of
Trastamare. Pedro was excommunicated for his cruelties and persecutions of
the clergy, and Bertrand Duguesclin, the victor of Cocherel, led the
companies into Navarre; yet they visited Avignon on their way and wrung
blackmail from the pope. The Spanish war was quickly ended, and Urban
returned to his fomer plan of employing the companies against the Turk. The
Count of Savoy was to have led them to the assistance of the King of Cyprus
and the Eastern Empire, but this scheme too was a failure. Urban's efforts
were equally fruitless in Italy, where the whole land was overrun with
bands led by such famous condottieri as the German Count of Landau and the
Englishman Sir John Hawkwood. In 1365, after the failure of a scheme to
unite Florence, Pisa, and the Italian communes against them, the pope
commissioned Albornoz to persuade these companies to join the King of
Hungary. In 1366 he solemnly excommunicated them, forbade their employment,
and called on the emperor and all the powers of Christendom to unite for
their extirpation. All was in vain, for though a league of Italian cities
was formed in September of that year, it was disolved about fifteen months
later owing to Florentine jealousy of the emperor.
Rome had suffered terribly through the absence of her pontiffs, and it
became apparent to Urban that if he remained at Avignon the work of the
warlike Cardinal Albornoz in restoring to the papacy the States of the
Church would be undone. On 14 September, 1366, he informed the emperor of
his determination to return to Rome. All men rejoiced at the announcement
except the French; the king understood that the departure from Avignon
would mean a diminution of French influence at the Curia. The French
cardinals were in despair at the prospect of leaving France, and even
threatened to desert the pope. On 30 April, 1367, Urban left Avignon; on 19
May he sailed from Marseilles, and after a long coasting voyage he reached
Corneto, where he was met by Albornoz. On 4 June the Romans brought the
keys of Sant' Angelo in sign of welcome, and the Gesuati carrying their
branches in their hands and headed by their founder, Blessed John
Colombini, preceded the pope. Five days later he entered Viterbo, where he
dwelt in the citadel. The disturbed state of Italy made it impossible for
Urban to set out to Rome until he had gathered a considerable army, so it
was not till 16 Oct. that he entered the city at the head of an imposing
cavalcade, under the escort of the Count of Savoy, the Marquess of Ferrara,
and other princes.
The return of the pope to Rome appeared to the contemporary world both as a
great event and as a religious action. The pope now set to work to improve
the material and moral condition of his capital. The basilicas and papal
palaces were restored and decorated, and the Papal treasure, which had been
preserved at Assisi since the days of Boniface VIII, was distributed to the
city churches. The unemployed were put to work in the neglected gardens of
the Vatican, and corn was distributed in seasons of scarcity; at the same
time the discipline of the clergy was restored, and the frequentation of
the sacraments encouraged. One of Urban's first acts was to change the
Roman constitution, but it may be questioned whether "the sacrifice offered
to the Pontiff as the reward of his return was the liberty of the people"
(Gregorovius).
On 17 October, 1368, the emperor joined the pope at Viterbo. Before leaving
Germany he had confirmed all the rights of the Church, and Urban hoped for
his help against the Visconti, but Charles allowed himself to be bribed. On
21 Oct. the pope and emperor entered Rome together, the latter humbly
leading the pontiff's mule. On 1 Nov. Charles acted as deacon at the Mass
at which Urban crowned the empress. For more than a century pope and
emperor had not appeared thus in amity. A year later the Emperor of the
East, John V Palaeologus, came to Rome seeking assistance against the
infidel; he abjured the schism and was received by Urban on the steps of
St. Peter's. These emperors both of West and East were but shadows of their
great predecessors, and their visits, triumphs as they might appear, were
but little gain to Urban V. He felt that his position in Italy was
insecure. The death of Albornoz (24 Aug., 1367), who had made his return to
Italy possible, had been a great loss. The restlessness of the towns was
exemplified by the revolt of Perugia, which had to be crushed by force; any
chance storm might undo the work of the great legate. At heart, too, the
pope had all a Frenchman's love for his country, and his French entourage
urged his return to Avignon. In vain were the remonstrances of the envoys
of Rome, which had gained "greater quiet and order, an influx of wealth, a
revival of importance" from his sojourn; in vain were the admonitions of
St. Bridget, who came from Rome to Montefiascone to warn him that if he
returned to Avignon he would shortly die. War had broken out again between
France and England, and the desire to bring about peace strengthened the
pope's determination. On 5 Sept., 1370, "sad, suffering and deeply moved",
Urban embarked at Corneto. In a Bull of 26 June he had told the Romans that
his departure was motived by his desire to be useful to the Universal
Church and to the country to which he was going. It may be, too, that the
pope saw that the next conclave would be free at Avignon but not in Italy.
Charles V joyfully sent a fleet of richly adorned galleys to Corneto; the
pope did not long survive his return (24 Sept.) to Avignon. His body was
buried in Notre-Dame des Doms at Avignon but was removed two years later,
in accordance with his own wish, to the Abbey Church of St. Victor at
Marseilles. Miracles multiplied around his tomb. His canonization was
demanded by King Waldemar of Denmark and promised by Gregory XI as early as
1375, but did not take place owing to the disorders of the time. His cultus
was approved by Pius IX in 1870.
Urban V was a man whose motives cannot be called in question: his policy
aimed at Eurpoean peace; shortly before his death he had given orders that
preparations should be made to enable him personally to visit and reconcile
Edward III and Charles V. He had shown great zeal for the Crusade. On 29
March, 1363, Pierre de Lusignan, King of Cyprus and titular King of
Jerusalem, appeared at Avignon to appeal for assistance against the Turks,
and on 31 March (Good Friday) Urban preached the Crusade and gave the cross
to the Kings of France, Denmark, and Cyprus; the chivalrous King John, who
was to have been chief commander, died a quasi-prisoner at London in 1364,
and though the King of Cyprus captured Alexandria (11 Oct., 1365), he was
unable to hold the city. The crusading spirit was dead in Europe. In an age
of corruption and simony Urban stood for purity and disinterestedness in
church life: he did much for ecclesiastical discipline and caused many
provincial councils to be held; he refused to bestow place or money on his
relatives, and even caused his own father to refund a pension bestowed on
him by the French king. His brother, whom he prompted to the cardinalate,
was acknowledged by all to be a man most worthy of the dignity. The pope's
private life was that of a monk, and he was always accessible to those who
sought his aid.
But Urban was a patriotic Frenchman, a defect in the universal father of
Christendom. He estranged the English king by the help given to his rival,
and aroused hostility in Italy by the favour shown to men of his own race
whom he made his representatives in the States of the Church. He was a
great patron of learning, founded universities at Cracow (by a Bull of
1364) and at Vienna (by a Bull of 1365), and caused the emperor to create
the University of Orange; he revised the statutes of the University of
Orl�ans; and gave great assistance to the universities of Avignon and
Toulouse. At Bologna he supported the great college founded by Albornoz and
paid the expenses of many poor students whom he sent thither. He also
founded a studium at Trets (later removed to Manosque), but his greatest
foundations were at Montpellier. His buildings and restorations were
considerable, especially at Avignon, Rome, and Montpellier. He approved the
orders of Brigittines and Gesuati, and canonized his godfather, St. Elz�ar
of Sabran.
RAYMUND WEBSTER
Transcribed by Carol Kerstner
Taken from the New Advent Web Page (www.knight.org/advent).
This article is part of the Catholic Encyclopedia Project, an effort aimed at placing the
entire Catholic Encyclopedia 1913 edition on the World Wide Web. The coordinator is
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