Blessed Urban V was a Pope in the fourteenth century during the dreadful period when the Popes were living in Avignon, in France, and not in Rome, where they belonged. This was much to the detriment of the good of the Church. Blessed Urban V was the sixth of the seven Popes to rule the Church from Avignon. By the encouragement of a brilliant Catholic woman, Saint Bridget of Sweden, Pope Urban V made plans to return to Rome, and did so. He was forced to return again to France where he died. But because of his courage, the Avignon Captivity, which lasted from 1309 to 1377, came to an end under his successor, Pope Gregory XI.
Portrait of Pope Urban V (Grimoard), by Henri Serrur, Palais des Papes d’Avignon. Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons.
