Livin' on a Prayer

Pope Francis I

When Pope Benedict XVI announced this February that he was resigning, it came as a shock to Catholics the world over. It is exceedingly rare for a pope to step down -- in fact, it's been six centuries since a pope has not held the office for life. And, interestingly enough, when the last pope resigned in the 15th century, it was for reasons a little more complicated than you might expect.

We all know that the papacy is located in Rome, Italy -- except for a century or so when it wasn't. In 1306, at the command of King Philip IV of France, French pope Clement V moved the seat of the papacy from Rome to the more defensively-strenghtened city of Avignon, France. And for almost a century, the papacy remained in Avignon.

When the papacy seat was finally returned to Rome in 1378, there was pressure on the mostly-French cardinals from the Roman citizens to pick an Italian man as pope. Wanting to make a show of good faith (no pun intended), the cardinals chose Bartolemeo Prignano for the office. They meant well.

Ol' Prignano looks like a friendly guy.

Unfortunately, Prignano, who would become Pope Urban VI, drank too much and may have been slightly insane. (One of his first actions as pope was to order the torture and execution of six cardinals who had had the nerve to defy him.) The French cardinals, hoping to reverse the problem, chose a new pope -- Clement VII -- and returned to Avignon with the new, "true" pope. One problem: Urban wasn't about to back down and acknowledge his successor. Urban just picked some new cardinals and keep on popin'.

So now there was two elected popes and two colleges of cardinals, with one set residing in Rome and the other in France. This ushered in the Great Western Schism, with every Christian in Europe having to, essentially, choose a side. It generally went by country: France and Scotland chose to follow Clement VII; while England, Germany, and the kingdoms of central Europe allied themselves to Urban VI.

It was a tough time to be a Christian.

When the Roman Urban VI died in 1389, his replacement was Boniface IX -- whose first act was to excommunicate (that is, threw out of the church) Clement VII. But the French cardinals were undaunted by their Roman-proclaimed blasphemy; when Clement died, a new French pope was chosen to replace him. The dualing popes continued until 1409, when both groups of cardinals decided the schism had to be repaired. Banding together, the united cardinals deposed Gregory XII (the current Roman pope) and Benedict XIII (the current Avignon pope), choosing a neutral newcomer for the job: Pope Alexander V. But -- surprise! -- Benedict and Gregory were happy where they were.

So now there were three popes, and three sides. All of Christendom was in a quandary: which pope was the true pope?  It was a more pressing question than we might realize today: with the belief that one must follow the true pope in order to secure a place in heaven, choosing correctly was a very real concern. And, as my former history professor so succinctly put it: "European Christians had reached a point where, no matter what they did, they were going to be excommunicated by a minimum of two popes."

Fortunately, this state of affairs didn't last long. At the 1417 Council of Constance, the trio of popes was deposed, with Martin V finally emerging as the one, and only, pope. Since then, those elected to the office of the papacy have held the position for life -- until now.

Let's be honest: this guy would have been a tough act for anyone to follow.

For more about Pope Francis, former popes, and the history of the papacy:

Jorge Mario Bergoglio: Fast Facts About Pope Francis -- A 14-fact "primer" on Jorge Mario Bergoglio, the former Archbishop of Buenos Aires, from Time magazine.

Cardinals Once Took 3 Years to Name Pope -- Some little-known facts about the history of papal elections from Anderson Cooper.

How to Become Pope -- YouTube show Grey Explains takes you through the process of becoming a pope.



-- Books on the papacy

-- Books about the popes

-- Post by Ms. B