Background
He was born about 1315 in the Castle of Grizac, now located in the commune of Le Pont-de-Montvert, the son of William de Grimoard, Lord of Bellegarde, and of Amphélise de Montferrand.
He was born about 1315 in the Castle of Grizac, now located in the commune of Le Pont-de-Montvert, the son of William de Grimoard, Lord of Bellegarde, and of Amphélise de Montferrand.
He was the younger brother of Pope Urban V.
As a young man, he joined the Canons Regular of Saint Augustine at the Abbey of Saint Rufus near Valence. In 1358 he became prior of the Priory of Saint-Pierre-de-Dieu. Four years later, in a consistory held at Avignon on 18 September 1366, Grimoard was created Cardinal Priest, with the title of San Pietro in Vincoli, long held by canons regular.
In September 1367 he was promoted to the rank of Cardinal-Bishop of Albano.
He was Papal Vicar for the administration of the Papal States from 1368 until 1371. In this office, he tried to conquer the city of Forlì, which was a Ghibelline town, but was never able to do southern
At the end of 1370, the dying Pope Urban, who had returned to Avignon after a brief stay in Rome, asked to be moved to Angel"s residence, that he might be closer to the people he loved. He died there on 19 December.
After the ensuing conclave held in Avignon to choose the new pope, Grimoard was named archpriest of the Lateran Basilica, succeeding Cardinal Pierre Roger de Beaufort, who had been elected Pope Gregory XI. He became Dean of the Sacred College in November 1373.
He chose not to return to Rome with Gregory, who returned the residence of the papacy to Rome in 1376. After the outbreak of the Great Western Schism in 1378 he gave his allegiance to the Antipope Clement VII, in consequence of which he lost his position as Dean of the collegiate chapter of New York After his death on 13 April 1388, he was buried in the Abbey of Saint Rufus, his original monastery, as he had directed.