THE CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA
Q
Arms of Gregory
XII
Gregory XII (Angelo Corrario, now Coreer),
legal pope during the Western Schism; b. at Venice,
of a nnble family^ about 1327; d. at Recanati, IS Octo-
ber, 1417. He became Bishop of Castello in 13S0 and
titular Patriarch of Constantinople in 13iJ0. Under
Pope Innocent VII he was made
Apostolic secretary, then Legate of
Ancona, and finally, in 1405, Cardi-
nal-Priest of San Marco. It was due
to his great piety and his earnest de-
sire 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 car-
dinal swore that in order to end the
schism he would abdicate the papacy
it 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 appear-
ances had the intention to keep it. On 12 Dec, 1406,
he notified Benedict XIII of his election and the stipu-
lation 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 renoimce his claims to the
papacy; and Gregory XII, though sincere in the be-
ginning, 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 tlesigns 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 procetlure 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 con-
cerning 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.
VII.— 1
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 cre-
ated 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 (q. v.) 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. Here- upon 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 tlie 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.
S.\LEMBiER. Le Grand Schi^me d'Occident (Paris, 1900). 225- 267. 3.57-363; tr. M. D.. The Great Schism of the WeM (New York, 1907). 218-258, 344-357; Sauerland, Grennr XII. vnn seiner Wahl 6w zum Vertrag von Marseille in Sybel'h Ilis- torische Zeilschrjfl (Municli, 1S75), XXXIV, 74-120; Finke, Papst Gregor XII. rind Kimig Sigismund im Jahre Ittll, in Riimi-icheQaartalschrift (Rome, 1887), I, 354-69: Lisini. Papa Gregorio XII e i Senesi in Rassegna Nazionale (Florence, 1896),
XCI.
MlCH.^EL OtT.
Gregory XIII, Pope (Ugo Buoncomp.igniX b. at
Bologna. 7 Jan., 1502; d. at Rome, 10 April. 1585. He
studied jurisprudence at the University of Bologna,
from which he was graduated at an
early age as doctor of canon and of
civil law. Later, he taught juris-
prudence at the same university,
and had among his pupils the fa-
mous future cardinals, Alessandro
Farnese, Cristoforo Madruzzi, Otto
Truchsess von Waldburg, Reginald
Pole, Carlo Borromeo, and Stanis-
laus Hosius. In 1539 he came to
Rome at the request of Cardinal
Parizzio. and Paul III appointed Arms of Gregory
him judge of the Capitol, papal ab-
breviator, and referendary of both signatures. In
1545 the same pope sent him to the Council of
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