Career
He was the fifth Avignon Pope. �tienne's father was Adhemar Aubert (1260-?), seigneur de Montel-de-Gelat in Limousin province. The successor of Clement VI, he was a native of the hamlet of Les Monts, Diocese of Limoges (today part of the commune of Beyssac, d�partement of Corr�ze), and, after having taught civil law at Toulouse, he became successively Bishop of Noyon in 1338 and Bishop of Clermont in 1340.
By 1342, he was raised to the position of cardinal. He was made cardinal-bishop of Ostia and Velletri in February 1352, by Pope Clement VI. Etienne was crowned pope on 30 December 1352 by Cardinal Gaillard de la Mothe. Upon his election, he revoked a signed agreement stating the college of cardinals was superior to the pope.
His subsequent policy compares favourably with that of the other Avignon Popes. He introduced many needed reforms in the administration of church affairs, and through his legate, Cardinal Albornoz, who was accompanied by Rienzi, he sought to restore order in Rome, where, in 1355, Holy Roman Emperor Charles IV was crowned with his permission, after previously having made an oath that he would quit the city on the day of the ceremony. It was largely through the exertions of Innocent VI that the Treaty of Br�tigny (1360) between France and England was brought about.
During his pontificate, the Byzantine emperor John V Palaeologus offered to submit the Greek church to the Roman See on condition of assistance against John VI Cantacuzenus. The resources at the disposal of the Pope, however, were all required for exigencies nearer home, and the offer was declined. Most of the wealth accumulated by John XXII and Benedict XII had been lost during the extravagant pontificate of Clement VI. Works of art were sold rather than commissioned.
His pontificate was dominated by the war in Italy and by Avignon's recovery from the plague, both of which made draining demands on his treasury. By 1357, he was complaining of poverty. Innocent VI was a liberal patron of letters, and, if the extreme severity of his measures against the Fraticelli is ignored, he retains a high reputation for justice and mercy.
