 Legal
pope during the Western Schism; born at Venice, of a
noble family, about 1327; died at Recanati, 18 October,
1417.
He became Bishop of Castello in 1380 and titular
Patriarch of Constantinople in 1390. Under Pope Innocent
VII he was made Apostolic secretary, the Legate of
Ancona, and finally, in 1405, Cardinal-Priest of San
Mareo. It was due to his great piety and his earnest
desire for the end of the schism that after the death of
Innocent VII the cardinals at Rome unanimously elected
him pope on 30 Nov., 1406. He took the name of Gregory
XII. Before the papal election each cardinal swore that
in order to end the schism he would abdicate the papacy
if he should be elected, provided his rival at Avignon
(Benedict XIII) would do the same. Gregory XII repeated
his oath after his election and to all appearances had
the intention to keep it. On 12 Dec., 1406, he notified
Benedict XIII of his election and the stipulation under
which it took place, at the same time reiterating his
willingness to lay down the tiara if Benedict would do
the same. Benedict apparently agreed to the proposals of
Gregory XII and expressed his desire to have a
conference with him. After long negotiations the two
pontiffs agreed to meet at Savona. The meeting, however,
never took place. Benedict, though openly protesting his
desire to meet Gregory XII, gave various indications
that he had not the least intention to renounce his
claims to the papacy; and Gregory XII, though sincere in
the beginning, also soon began to waver. The relatives
of Gregory XII, to whom he was always inordinately
attached, and King Ladislaus of Naples, for political
reasons used all their efforts to prevent the meeting of
the pontiffs. The reason, pretended or real, put forth
by Gregory XII for refusing to meet his rival, was his
fear that Benedict had hostile designs upon him and
would use their conference only as a ruse to capture
him. The cardinals of Gregory XII openly showed their
dissatisfaction at his procedure and gave signs of their
intention to forsake him. On 4 May, 1408, Gregory XII
convened his cardinals at Lucca, ordered them not to
leave the city under any pretext, and created four of
his nephews cardinals, despite his promise in the
conclave that he would create no new cardinals. Seven of
the cardinals secretly left Lucca and negotiated with
the cardinals of Benedict concerning the convocation of
a general council by them at which both pontiffs should
be deposed and a new one elected. They summoned the
council to Pisa and invited both pontiffs to be present.
Neither Gregory XII nor Benedict XIII appeared. At the
fifteenth session (5 June, 1409), the council deposed
the two pontiffs, and elected Alexander V on 26 June,
1409. Meanwhile Gregory stayed with his loyal and
powerful protector, Prince Charles of Malatesta, who had
come to Pisa in person during the process of the
council, in order to effect an understanding between
Gregory XII and the cardinals of both obediences. All
his efforts were useless. Gregory XII, who had meanwhile
created ten other cardinals, convoked a council at
Cividale del Friuli, near Aquileia, for 6 June, 1409. At
this council, though only a few bishops had appeared,
Benedict XIII and Alexander V were pronounced
schismatics, perjurers, and devastators of the Church.
Though forsaken by most of his cardinals, Gregory XII
was still the true pope and was recognized as such by
Rupert, King of the Romans, King Ladislaus of Naples,
and some Italian princes. The Council of Constance
finally put an end to the intolerable situation of the
Church. At the fourteenth session (4 July, 1415) a Bull
of Gregory XII was read which appointed Malatesta and
Cardinal Dominici of Ragusa as his proxies at the
council. The cardinal then read a mandatory of Gregory
XII which convoked the council and authorized its
succeeding acts. Hereupon Malatesta, acting in the name
of Gregory XII, pronounced the resignation of the papacy
by Gregory XII and handed a written copy of the
resignation to the assembly. The cardinals accepted the
resignation, retained all the cardinals that had been
created by him, and appointed him Bishop of Porto and
perpetual legate at Ancona. Two years later, before the
election of the new pope, Martin V, Gregory XII died in
the odour of sanctity. |
