Background
Gregory XII was born on May 14, 1326 in Venice, Italy.
Gregory XII was born on May 14, 1326 in Venice, Italy.
Pope Gregory XII was bishop of Castello in the Papal States (1380) and Latin Patriarch of Constantinople (1390) when made a cardinal (1405) by Pope Innocent VII, whom he succeeded on Nov. 30, 1406. His pontificate was challenged by the Avignonese antipope Benedict XIII, with whom he was to have negotiated for their mutual abdication to end the Schism. After the French declared neutrality (1408) in the dispute between Rome and Avignon, the Council of Pisa pronounced both the Roman and Avignonese popes deposed (June 1409). Gregory protested but resigned on July 4, 1415. He first, however, approved the Council of Constance (Germany), which denounced Benedict as a heretic and elected Pope Martin V. Gregory died as cardinal bishop of Porto, a title conferred on him by the council.
Gregory XII's ascension to the Holy See came during a tumultuous crisis in Christian Europe usually referred to as the Great Schism, a conflict that divided clerics, royals, and the faithful for several decades. At one period of Gregory XII's rule, there were two other popes elsewhere vying for authority, but his own eventual assent to a compromise helped end the Schism.
