Blessed Urban V

The nobility of his family, the elevation of his spirit, the variety of his knowledge, and the affability of his manners which won all hearts, ensured him a brilliant future. But while still young, he renounced the world to satisfy, without reservation, the noblest aspirations of his soul: the love of study and piety. He embraced the R ule of Saint Benedict Règle de Saint-Benoît Religious order occupying the monastery of Honnecourt. and made his religious profession in Marseille, in th e monastery of Saint-Vict monastère de Saint-Victor Monastery where he made his profession and of which he became abbot. or. We know what a large place ecclesiastical science occupied in the life of Benedictine monks. One cannot pronounce their name without remembering the immense services they rendered to the Church, and the countless masterpieces of patient erudition they left us. But Guillaume de Grimoard did not confine his youth to the cloister solely to surround himself with manuscripts and savor the quiet sweetness of science; it was God above all that he sought in solitude, and he served Him with a fervor that made the most austere practices of monastic life seem easy to him. Already at that time, he distinguished himself by his tender devotion to the most holy Virgin; his confidence in our Good Mother only grew with the years, and the numerous sanctuaries he later raised in her honor are a touching testimony to the cult he had vowed to her.

The religious profession, which had suspended the young Guillaume's studies, did not prevent him from resuming them some time later, and he did so with new successes that astonished his own masters! He had barely conquered the title of doctor of canon law when his superiors, struck by the brilliance with which he had undergone his university examinations, as well as by the breadth and solidity of his knowledge, decided to let him follow his inclination for the teaching of law. This would henceforth be the main occupation of his life until the time when he would be raised to the sovereign Pontificate: the universities of Toulouse, Montpellier, Paris, and Avignon would see him, in turn, attracting to his chair multitudes of listeners whom he instructed with great depth of doctrine, and whom he charmed by the interest attached to his words.

Despite his attraction to teaching, Guillaume de Grimoard had to interrupt the course of his learned lessons more than once to occupy the high positions to which his knowledge and virtues seemed to have destined him. Having become successively vicar-general of the bishops of Clermont and Uzès, he was, for the prelates who had honored him with their trust, a collaborator, or rather a friend as faithful as he was helpful.

Putting into practice what he had taught from his chair regarding the intimate and perfect union that a vicar-general must have with his bishop, he was seen supporting the zeal of the pastors who had attached him to themselves with unalterable loyalty and selfless devotion, without ever seeking his own interests. Thus, the Lord blessed his ministry: while his sincere and persuasive word produced the most abundant fruits of salvation, the people, filled with admiration for his virtues, and especially for his inexhaustible charity toward the poor, already venerated him as a true servant of God and as a Saint.

So many merits attracted the attention of Pope Clement VI, who appointed him abbot of Saint-Germain d'Auxerre and chose him, soon after, as legate in Italy, entrusting him with a mission of the highest importance. It was nothing less than bringing the usurped provinces and cities back under the authority of the Holy See, and preparing the way, through the pacification of Rome and the patrimony of Saint Peter, for the return of the papacy to the predestined city where it must reside.

At that time, Rome was even more desolate than in recent times. For, as great as its misfortunes are at this hour, they can barely give an idea of what it suffered in the middle of the 14th century. Several rival factions disputed its possession: it underwent, in turn, the excesses of popular tyranny and the horrors of anarchy. For a moment, the audacious Rienzi gave it a regular government; but the tribune, intoxicated by success, dreamed of the restoration of the Roman Empire. The resistance his foolish projects encountered made him cruel. He shed blood, the people rose up; trembling before the mob that had recently acclaimed him at the Capitol, he was killed ignominiously. The petty despots who succeeded him inherited only his faults. Brought to power by popular whim, they were overthrown the next day. Italy was nothing but a battlefield, Rome a den of bandits. The papacy, which alone could restore its happiness, awaited the moment when the success of its legates would allow it to return to the tomb of the holy Apostles.

It does not fall within the limits we have set for ourselves to make known, in detail, the various legations of Guillaume de Grimoard.

Considering him only as an ordinary statesman, one would have to acknowledge that he displayed eminent qualities, but his virtue raised him higher. The historians of his life agree in noting that he brought to the highest degree, in his actions, a sense of justice; that the uprightness and truth which presided over all his negotiations made them the surest skill. They also pay homage to the firmness and heroic courage he showed toward the invaders of the domains of the Holy See, and notably in the face of the threats and violence of the terrible Barnabo Visconti Barnabo Visconti Lord of Milan opposed to the Holy See. .

While these happy events gladdened the old age of Innocent VI, the Abbey of Saint-Victor became vacant upon the death of Etienne de Clapiers; the Pope immediately appointed Guillaume de Grimoard to it, to whom he wished to show his gratitude and who had, for some time, returned to Avignon. With what happiness did the pious Benedictine return to the tranquility of monastic life! He finally found again that dear abbey where, in his youth, he had consecrated himself to God and toward which, amidst the agitations of public life, he had never ceased to turn his gaze. As a simple religious, he had distinguished himself at Saint-Victor by his perfect regularity and obedience; having become superior, he was no less distinguished by the wisdom of his government.

Guillaume had no more ardent desire than to work toward his sanctification in the calm and silence of this pious retreat: but the merit of the holy Abbot had already spread too much brilliance for the Sovereign Pontiff to consent to leave him hidden in the cloister for long. Innocent VI, judging Guillaume's presence necessary in Italy, had just entrusted him with a new mission, and our Blessed one had already arrived in Naples when the death of the Pope was learned.

The cardinals gathered in conclave, according to custom, but they could not agree to elect one of their own: they then resolved to choose the new Pope from outside the Sacred College, and soon their unanimous votes fell upon Guillaume de Grimoard, Abbot of Saint-Victor, who was still in Italy. Only one person was saddened by this election, and that was the one who was its object; but all of Christendom rejoiced and acclaimed it. "God therefore takes pity on those He loves," exclaimed one of Italy's greatest poets on this occasion, "He therefore wishes to revive the golden age and bring back to its ancient seat the Church He has allowed to wander for so long to punish the crimes of men." Bowing his head under the "yoke of apostolic servitude," Guillaume de Grimoard took the name Urban V. He made his entry into Avignon on October 31, 1362, and he was consec rated an Urbain V Reforming pope of French origin, 200th pope of the Catholic Church. d crowned the following Sunday, November 6.

As soon as he had ascended the chair of Saint Peter, the new Pope proposed three designs worthy of his great soul: to bring the Papacy back to Rome, to reform morals, notably by combating ignorance; and finally to propagate the Catholic faith afar. Without constraining ourselves to follow chronological order, we shall consider successively what Urban V did to realize these three great thoughts.

The ceaselessly reviving rivalries that armed the small Italian republics against one another and made all the lords into leaders of bands always ready to wage war formed an obstacle, in appearance insurmountable, to the return of the Papacy to Rome. It was necessary, above all, to restore to unfortunate Italy the benefits of peace, to reconcile rival cities, to bring together enemies thirsting for vengeance. Urban V, decided to pursue such a noble goal, continued as Pope, and with the same perseverance and energy, what he had done some time before as an envoy of Innocent VI. He therefore charged the General of the Friars Minor, Mark of Viterbo, to go from city to city to preach peace and lead the party leaders to conclude it sincerely. "We exhort you," he wrote himself to Galeazzo Visconti and the Marquis of Montferrat, "we beseech you to be willing to consider the multitude of evils that war produces and to dispose yourselves to make an honorable peace." The mission of Mark of Viterbo was bristling with difficulties: the band leaders promised peace when they felt threatened, but soon they began the war again. To stop the shedding of blood, which had flowed for so many years, Urban V accepted arrangements with these tireless fighters. His condescension bore happy fruits. Italy finally found tranquility, and the illustrious Cardinal Ægidius Albornoz, to whom belongs, after the Pope, the principal honor of this pacification, was able to give the Pontifical State those famous constitutions which governed it for several centuries, and which, from the name of the cardinal, were called Ægidian. Then disappeared the old denominations of Guelphs and Ghibellines. The ancient parties faded away; there was no longer anything but a people submitted to the authority of the sovereign Pontiff, calling with all their wishes for his return to Rome. Urban V received, in Avignon, an embassy sent by the Romans to conjure him to hasten his departure. His joy was great in receiving the assurance that the Pontifical State, completely pacified, was sighing for his presence and that the independence of the Vicar of Jesus Christ would no longer be threatened there! Nevertheless, it was not without imposing upon himself the most painful efforts that he decided to move away from France: he had never forgotten that it was his homeland and he was deeply attached to it; furthermore, his departure was going to separate him from his old father, aged one hundred years, whom he had brought to be near him in Avignon to surround him with his care and tenderness.

But, in the heart of Urban, it had been a long time since the fulfillment of duty outweighed sacrifices; in the meantime, his venerable father came to die, he wept for him as a good son, and finally, the preparations for his journey being completed, he left Avignon on April 30, 1367; he went to Marseille and there awaited, in the abbey of Saint-Victor, the gathering of the galleys sent to form his escort.

It was on May 19 that Urban V moved away from the shores of Marseille, blessing the city and the land of France, where the persecuted papacy always found a hospitable asylum. Upon learning of the so ardently desired return of the sovereign Pontiff, Italy shuddered with joy. In Genoa, in Corneto, in Viterbo, the people rushed along his path, waving olive branches and shouting these cries of joy a thousand times repeated: "Praised be Jesus Christ! Long live the Holy Father!" After a stay of a few months in Viterbo to arrange various affairs there, Urban V made his solemn entry into Rome: it was Saturday, Octo ber Rome Birthplace of Maximian. 13, 1367. An immense crowd, drunk with happiness, preceded and followed the procession; it was a true triumph. Everywhere flags floated and joyful acclamations resounded. One did not tire of contemplating the Pontiff whom Rome was finding again, after having lost him for so long, and whom it needs to possess to be truly Rome.

Urban V went to the basilica of Saint Peter and went to pray at the tomb of the holy Apostles. His eyes grew wet with tears. He thanked Providence for having finally led him into the city chosen by God to be the residence of the Vicar of Jesus Christ, and while thinking of the long exile of the papacy, he murmured while his tears flowed: *Super flumina Babylonis illic sedimus et flevimus, cum recordaremur Sion*; "we sat down by the rivers of Babylon, and there we wept when we remembered Zion."

By bringing the Papacy back to Rome, Urban had accomplished one of the principal designs he had imposed upon himself. His stay in the eternal city allowed him to work more effectively than in any place in the world for the reform of morals and the propagation of the faith.

From the very first days of his pontificate, afflicted by the laxity of morals, a fatal consequence of the wars that were agitating all of Europe, he strove to provide a remedy. Princes set the example for every crime. Soldiers, selling their swords to whoever paid them more, knew neither homeland, nor discipline, nor a sense of duty. Moral corruption, spreading like a contagious disease, had invaded all classes of society; the clergy themselves and the monks were not exempt from it. The disorders were such that many terrified men believed the world was coming to an end. The magnitude of the evil did not discourage Urban V. He began by attacking the abuses that had been introduced into the papal court, in order to work more boldly thereafter to correct the morals of the clergy and the faithful. The high rank of the guilty never prevented the holy Pope from rebuking them for their faults and exhorting them to change their lives: this is how he acted toward Peter the Cruel, King of Castile; Peter, King of Cyprus; and Casimir, King of Poland. He extended the reform to a large number of monasteries, but we owe special mention to the work of renovation he accomplished at Monte Cassino. The illustrious abbey has kept a grateful memory of it, considering him its second founder. In addition, Urban V published numerous decrees for the correction of morals, and in order to ensure their execution, he ordered the holding of provincial councils on several occasions and oversaw their celebration. Among his most useful ordinances, one may cite those he issued against usurers, against the accumulation of benefices, against luxury, against the immodesty of clothing, and against the men of war who lived by murder and pillage instead of observing the laws of honor and military discipline. He contributed as much as Duguesclin to delivering France from those fearsome armies of mercenaries known as the routiers or great companies. The solicitude of Urban V extended to all the needs of religious society and civil society, both of which were then so closely united. What added to the effectiveness of his tireless efforts was that he preached even more by his example than by his words. One admired the austerity of his life, the delicacy of his conscience, and the fervor of his piety. Far from seeking pomp, he made modesty and simplicity reign in his palace. He wore the monastic habit his whole life, and the people were touched to see him, during public festivals, dressed as a humble monk. He maintained until the end of his days the habits of mortification and frugality that he had contracted by observing the Benedictine Rule with scrupulous fidelity. The love of the poor was one of his principal virtues. When foods less simple than usual were served at his table, he had them carried to the indigent. Each day, during his meals, he would ask those admitted to his presence if they did not know of any unfortunate people whose misery no one was relieving. He would then hasten to send money, food, and clothing to these abandoned poor. Sometimes they, abusing his charity, would present themselves at his audiences to solicit new favors. The cardinals, out of prudence, wanted to turn them away; but the Pope would call these unfortunate people, listen to them with patience, and would not send them away without giving them some proof of his affection. To consolidate the moral reforms that his examples and his words recommended so eloquently, Urban V applied himself to spreading instruction and favoring good studies: he considered, with reason, ignorance to be one of the principal causes of the corruption of morals. In the presence of lords who made so little of knowledge that they boasted of not even being able to sign their names, the people would have been plunged into barbarism if the Church had not taught them the most essential truths. Urban V revived the love of study everywhere. He restored the University of Paris to its former brilliance, gave it wise regulations, and helped it become that powerful corporation whose doctors were, more than once, consulted by popes and king s. Extending his so université de Paris Academic institution restored by Urban V. licitude to the countries of the North, then so destitute, he founded the University of Krakow for Poland; and shortly thereafter, the University of Vienna for Austria. In order to give a striking proof of the value he attached to the progress of letters and sciences, he supported, at his own expense, more than a thousand students in the various universities of Europe, provided for their food, and supplied them with books and clothing. He founded the College of Saint-Germain in Montpellier for sixteen law students of the Benedictine Order, and the College of Saint-Matthew for twelve medical students from the Gévaudan, and he took charge of their maintenance. He established a singing school in Toulouse and entrusted skilled masters with the care of teaching music to young children who were to be heard during the solemn mass in the university church. It is thus that by multiplying the sources of instruction, and by facilitating access to higher schools for studious youth, Urban V continued the tradition of Albert the Great, of Thomas Aquinas, and of all those great men of the 13th century, whose brows shine with the double halo of genius and holiness.

If such were the works of the blessed Pontiff to reform morals and combat ignorance, with what ardor did he not labor to make the lights of the faith shine with a brighter luster? For it is indeed to him that one can apply the words of the Psalmist: Zelus domus tuæ comedit me; "the zeal of your house has consumed me."

We shall soon recall these tireless efforts to convert the infidels, and to bring back to the Church the heretics and schismatics who had separated from it. But we cannot forget what he did for our Catholic lands, in order to preserve religion there; for it is to this thought that one must attribute the numerous churches and monasteries that he built or restored.

The Abbey of Saint-Victor, so dear to the holy Pontiff, was the first to claim his attention, and, indeed, he had considerable work done there; these works have for the most part disappeared amidst the misfortunes of the times, nevertheless one still sees today the remains of the ancient fortifications that he had raised around the monastery. The current apse of the church of Saint-Victor is the same one he had built, and one can henceforth venerate the remains of the tomb in which his sanctified bones rested for several centuries. He had a great church built in Montpellier, under the patronage of Saint Benedict and Saint Germain, which is today the cathedral. In Mende, he also rebuilt the cathedral on a grandiose plan, and he founded, moreover, in the same diocese, two collegiate churches. One of them was in Bedouès, a small town located near the place of his birth, and where the tomb of his family was.

What would we not have to add, if we wished to make known what the holy Pope did in other lands? However, we must mention, if only for the record, the innumerable works of rebuilding and restoration that he accomplished in Rome and in Italy. For more than sixty years that the Papacy had been absent, almost all the churches of the holy city were falling into ruin; the basilicas themselves, and notably those of Saint Paul and the Lateran, were in the greatest state of disrepair. Urban V set himself resolutely to the task; under his powerful impulse, everything soon changed in appearance, and the Holy Places became more worthy of the majesty of Him to whom they are consecrated.

The recognition that the blessed Pontiff performed of the sacred heads of the holy apostles Peter and Paul was for his piety the occasion of immense consolation; he himself wished to show them to the Roman people. During his pontificate, Urban V approved some religious Orders: the most famous, because of the name of its foundress, is the one established by Saint Bridget: the holy widow came herself to Rome from the depths of Sweden, and she obtained the approval she sought. These works, performed in the midst of the faithful flock, were not enough to satisfy the zeal of the holy Pontiff. The Lord had placed in his heart the flame of the apostolate, and he needed to spread its ardor to the peoples sitting in the shadow of infidelity, schism, and heresy. He sent missionaries to Wallachia and Lithuania. The religious, to whom he entrusted the evangelization of Bulgaria, baptized, in a short time, more than two hundred thousand people. A Franciscan bishop and twenty-five religious of his Order spread into Georgia and the neighboring lands. Urban V created an archbishop of Cambaluc or Beijing, and sent him, accompanied by several Friars Minor, to China and Tartary. He even wrote to the formidable Tamerlane to recommend to him the preachers of the Gospel who were traveling through his vast empire, and to thank him for having shown himself favorable to the Christians who lived under his dominion.

But nothing equals the efforts of our Blessed one to put an end to the disastrous schism that had separated the Greek Church from the center of unity. The Emperor of the East, John Palaiologos, yielding to his pressing requests, went to Rome with the Empress Helena Kantakouzene. After numerous conferences w ith the Soverei Jean Paléologue Byzantine Emperor who abjured the schism before Urban V. gn Pontiff, he abjured the schism on the day of Saint Luke, October 18, 1369, and made a solemn profession of the Catholic faith. This event filled the heart of Urban V with joy. He announced it to the Christian world and begged the Greeks to imitate the example that the emperor had just given them. "If God granted us this grace," he said to them, "that, under our Pontificate, the Latin Church and the Eastern Church could be reunited after having been separated for so long, we would willingly close our eyes to the light, and we would say, like the holy old man Simeon: Now, Lord, let your servant go in peace, for my eyes have seen your salvation." A great religious movement stirred the other Orientals. The patriarch of the Nestorians came from Mosul to Rome to bow under the blessing of the Pope; and several princes of Albania and Moldavia abjured the schism and returned to the fold of the Catholic Church.

Unfortunately, there were peoples who resisted all the efforts made to bring them to the true faith. These were the Muslim peoples: proud of their rapid successes, they nurtured the hope of subjecting the entire earth to the law of Muhammad. Urban V sensed the dangers that threatened Christendom. He heard, so to speak, the sound of the Ottoman squadrons that were about to rush upon Constantinople. He would have liked to prevent such a disaster and arm against the common enemy all the princes of the West. As early as Good Friday of the year 1363, he had published the crusade against the Turks and begged the Christians to go and bring prompt aid to their brothers in the East. The King of France, John the Good, and the King of Cyprus, Peter of Lusignan, had received the cross from the hands of the Sovereign Pontiff and sworn to deliver the Holy Sepulcher. It seemed that the old cry: "God wills it! God wills it!" was going to resound throughout Europe, as in the days of Peter the Hermit and Godfrey of Bouillon; the death of the King of France disconcerted all the plans of Urban V, diminished the number of crusaders, and delayed their departure. When Peter of Lusignan left the port of Venice, he was taking with him only twelve thousand men. This small army performed prodigies of valor and took Alexandria by storm. But this brilliant feat of arms was without result. Discouragement soon seized the Crusaders, and most returned to their homes. Urban V redoubled his pleas to the Christian princes; they remained deaf to his voice. They did not want to forget their private quarrels to unite against the formidable enemy that was about to throw itself upon Europe, after having subjected Egypt and Palestine to its iron yoke.

What aid could France and England have brought to the Christians of the East, had they united their forces! But these two rival nations were struggling fiercely, one for the integrity of its territory, the other for the expansion of its power. If Urban V extended his solicitude to all the peoples of Europe, he did not forget that France was his homeland. His heart was broken when he learned that French blood was being shed in heroic battles. God, no doubt, had given France a great captain, the Constable Duguesclin, and, in Guyenne as in Brittany, our enemies retreated before his victorious arms; but every success was dearly bought. Already the cannon, which the progress of civilization should have caused to disappear, and which it only perfected, was piling up corpses on the battlefield. Urban V resolved to interpose himself between the kings of France and England. He hoped that they would not dare to continue the struggle when he himself begged them to lay down their arms. Such was one of the main motives that determined him to leave Rome, although weakened by illness; he had wished to persuade the two most powerful kings of Christendom to conclude a peace treaty and to league themselves against the Muslims. Death did not allow him to accomplish this work of pacification.

Welcomed in Marseille with transports of joy, he could not go beyond Avignon. Feeling his end approaching, he wished, out of humility, to leave the apostolic palace and had himself carried to his brother's house, at the foot of those high towers where he had received so many honors. He asked that the doors be opened and that the people be allowed to circulate around his bed. "It is necessary," he said, "that they be able to see how Popes die!" After having received the sacraments of the dying and commended his soul to God, he breathed his last, holding the cross between his hands; it was Thursday, December 19, 1370, around three o'clock in the afternoon. He was in his sixty-first year.

The news of the holy Pope's death spread rapidly and produced general affliction, but at the same time, throughout all of Europe, a unanimous concert of praise arose to retell the holiness of his life, the immortal works he had accomplished, and the greatness of his faith and charity, the efficacy of which had been felt to the ends of the world.

## CULT AND RELICS.

The solemn funeral of the blessed Pope took place three days after his death, amidst a great gathering of people; and that very day, God was pleased to manifest the holiness of His illustrious Pontiff through prodigies of all kinds. The body of Urban V was buried before the altar of the Basilica of Notre-Dame des Doms in Avignon. Eighteen months later, on May 31, 1372, his venerable remains were exhumed and transferred to Marseille, where the religious of Saint-Victor placed them in a magnificent tomb. Excavations have just been carried out in this church, but their lack of success is beginning to raise fears that the Vandals of '93 may have scattered his relics.

The people spontaneously rendered to this holy Pope the honor that is rendered to Saints. Everywhere his image was engraved; the sacred nimbus adorned his brow, and the title of Saint or Blessed was inscribed at the bottom. This devotion had made such rapid progress that, four years after the death of the blessed Urban V, the walls of the church of Saint-Victor were literally covered with ex-votos.

The request for canonization was made to Pope Gregory XI, his successor; but the agitations of the moment prevented him from pursuing this matter. The charge was taken up again with Clement VII, who sat in Avignon, and this pontiff entrusted several prelates and other capable persons with the task of conducting the inquiry into his virtues and miracles. From all the information that was gathered then, a long report was drawn up, the original manuscript of which still exists in Rome, at the Vatican Library. New troubles that arose were the reason why the Holy See was unable, at that time, to reach a definitive judgment.

However, devotion to the blessed Urban V has always persevered; and although through the long space of five hundred years it has had much to suffer from the injuries of time, quite respectable vestiges of it remain to this day. This is why our holy Father Pope Pius IX, solicited by some twenty bishops of France and Italy, has deigned to confirm in a canonical and solemn manner th e cult rend pape Pie IX Pope who canonized Josaphat in 1867. ered to our Blessed one. The pontifical decree bears the date of March 10, 1870. His office is celebrated in the diocese of Marseille, under the double rite, on December 19.

We have drawn this biography from the *Mandement de Mgr Charles Philippe Place, évêque de Marseille, à l'occasion de la confirmation du culte du bienheureux pape Urbain V* (December 1870). — Cf. *Vie du bienheureux Urbain V, pape*, by M. Lubbé Charbonnel. (Marseille, Mabilly, publisher, 1871).