Pope Gregory XII

Pope Gregory XII (Latin: Gregorius XII ; c. 1326 –18 October 1417), born Angelo Corraro, Corario,[1]or Correr,[2] was Pope from 30 November 1406 to July1415 when he was forced to resign to end the WesternSchism. He succeeded Pope Innocent VII and in turn wassucceeded by Pope Martin V.

1 Early life

Angelo Corraro was born in Venice and was consecratedas a bishop in 1390.

1.1 Clerical career

Corraro was appointed Bishop of Castello in 1380, suc-ceeding Bishop Nicolò Morosini. On 1 December 1390he was made Titular Patriarch of Constantinople. On12 June 1405 he was created cardinal and the Cardinal-Priest of San Marco by Pope Innocent VII. He was Apos-tolic Administrator of Constantinople from 30 November1406 to 23 October 1409.[3]

1.2 Papal conclave

Main article: Papal conclave, 1406

Gregory XII was chosen at Rome by a conclave consist-ing of only fifteen cardinals under the express conditionthat, should Antipope Benedict XIII (1394–1423), the ri-val papal claimant at Avignon, renounce all claim to thePapacy, he would also renounce his, so that a fresh elec-tionmight bemade and theWestern Schism (1378–1417)ended. He became Supreme Pontiff on 30 November1406.

2 Pontificate

2.1 Negotiations to end the schism

The two pontiffs opened wary negotiations to meet onneutral turf at Savona in Liguria, but soon began to wa-ver in their resolve. The Corraro relatives of Gregory XIIin Venice and King Ladislaus of Naples, the supporterof Gregory XII and his predecessor for political reasons,used all their influence to prevent the meeting, and each

Pope feared being captured by the partisans of the rivalPope.The cardinals of Gregory XII openly showed their dis-satisfaction at this manoeuvring and gave signs of theirintention to abandon him. On 4 May 1408, Gregory XIIconvened his cardinals at Lucca and ordered them not toleave the city under any pretext. He tried to supplementhis following by creating four of his Corraro nephews car-dinals – including the future Pope Eugene IV, despite hispromise in the conclave that he would create no new car-dinals. Seven of the cardinals secretly left Lucca and ne-gotiated with the cardinals of Benedict XIII concerningthe convocation of a general council by them, at whichboth pontiffs should be deposed and a new one elected.Consequently, they summoned the council to Pisa and in-vited both pontiffs to be present. Neither Gregory XII norBenedict XIII appeared.Meanwhile, Gregory XII stayed with his loyal and power-ful protector, the condottiero Carlo I Malatesta, who hadcome to Pisa in person during the process of the councilto support Gregory XII with both sets of cardinals. Atthe fifteenth session, 5 June 1409, the Council of Pisadeposed the two pontiffs as schismatical, heretical, per-jured, and scandalous; they elected Alexander V (1409–10) later that month. Gregory XII, who had meanwhilecreated ten more cardinals, had convoked a rival coun-cil at Cividale del Friuli, near Aquileia; but only a fewbishops appeared. Gregory XII’s cardinals pronouncedBenedict XIII and Alexander V schismatics, perjurers,and devastators of the Church, but their pronouncementwent unheeded.

2.2 Resolution of the schism

The Council of Constance finally resolved the situa-tion. Gregory XII appointed Carlo Malatesta and Car-dinal Giovanni Dominici of Ragusa as his proxies. Thecardinal then convoked the council and authorized itssucceeding acts, thus preserving the formulas of Papalsupremacy.Thereupon on 4 July 1415, Malatesta, acting in the nameof Gregory XII, pronounced the resignation of the Pope,which the cardinals accepted. According to prior agree-ment, they agreed to retain all the cardinals that had beencreated by Gregory XII, thus satisfying the Corraro clan,and appointed Gregory XII Bishop of Frascati, Dean ofthe Sacred College of Cardinals and perpetual legate atAncona. The Council then set aside Antipope JohnXXIII

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2 6 EXTERNAL LINKS

(1410–15), the successor of Alexander V. After the for-mer follower of Benedict XIII appeared, the council de-clared him deposed; and the Western Schism was ended.A newRoman pontiff, PopeMartin V, was not elected be-fore Gregory XII’s death. Therefore, the Papal seat wasvacant.

3 Retirement and death

The rest of Gregory XII’s life was spent in peaceful ob-scurity in Ancona. He was the last pope to resign untilBenedict XVI did so on 28 February 2013, almost 598years later.[4]

4 See also• Papal resignation

5 References[1] "Gregory XII." in the Encyclopædia Britannica, 9th ed.,

Vol. XI. 1880.

[2] http://www2.fiu.edu/~{}mirandas/bios1405.htm#Correr

[3] “Titular Episcopal See of Castello”. GCatholic. Retrieved2013-11-24.

[4] “Pope Benedict XVI to resign citing poor health”. BBCNews. Retrieved 2013-02-11.

6 External links• This article incorporates text from a publication nowin the public domain: Herbermann, Charles, ed.(1913). "Pope Gregory XII". Catholic Encyclope-dia. Robert Appleton Company.

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7 Text and image sources, contributors, and licenses

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