Avignon Papacy

The Avignon Papacy was the period from 1309 to 1376 during which seven Popes resided in Avignon, in modern-day France. This arose from the conflict between the Papacy and the French Crown.

Following the strife between Boniface VIII and Philip IV of France, and the death after only eight months of his successor Benedict XI, a deadlocked conclave finally elected Clement V, a Frenchman, as Pope in 1305. Clement declined to move to Rome, remaining in France, and in 1309 moved his court to the papal enclave at Avignon, where it remained for the next 67 years. This absence from Rome is sometimes referred to as the "Babylonian Captivity of the Papacy". A total of seven Popes reigned at Avignon; all were French (effectively Occitan), and all were increasingly under the influence of the French Crown. Finally, on September 13, 1376 Gregory XI abandoned Avignon and moved his court to Rome (arriving January 17, 1377), officially ending the Avignon Papacy.

However, in 1378 the breakdown in relations between the cardinals and Gregory's successor, Urban VI, gave rise to the Western Schism. This started a second line of Avignon Popes, though these are now regarded as illegitimate. The last Avignon Pope, Benedict XIII, lost most of his support in 1398, including that of France; following five years of siege by the French, he fled (March 11, 1403) to Perpignan. The schism ended in 1417 at the Council of Constance after only two Popes had reigned in opposition to the Papacy in Rome.