Blessed Pope Gregory X

Blessed Pope Gregory X (Latin: Gregorius X; born Teobaldo Visconti; c. 1210, Piacenza, Italy — died 10 January 1276, Arezzo, Italy) was Pope from 1 September 1271 until his death. A member of the Secular Franciscan (Third) Order, Gregory X summoned the Second Council of Lyon (1274), achieved a temporary reunion between the Latin and Greek Churches, enacted the most important medieval reform of papal-election procedure in the decree Ubi periculum, and promoted a new crusade to the Holy Land. His pontificate was one of the most consequential of the thirteenth century despite lasting only four years. His beatification was confirmed by Pope Clement XI on 8 July 1713; his feast is observed on 10 January.

Born into the Visconti family of Piacenza — distinct from the later ruling Visconti of Milan — Teobaldo entered the service of Cardinal Ottobono Fieschi and was serving as Archdeacon of Liège when news of his election reached him in Acre, where he was accompanying Prince Edward of England on the Ninth Crusade. He had not yet been ordained a priest. Rushed through the orders of deacon, priest, and bishop upon his return to Italy, he was consecrated pope on 27 March 1272.

The conclave that chose him at Viterbo in 1268–1271 was the longest in the history of the Catholic Church — two years, nine months, and two days — and it was Gregory's bitter personal experience of that deadlock that led directly to his landmark legislation on conclaves.

Stored in Cargo: Blessed Pope Gregory X

Blessed Pope Gregory X
Feast Day	January 10
Profession	Pope; Archdeacon; diplomat; crusade promoter
Rel. Affiliation	Catholic Church; Secular Franciscan Order (OFS)
Patronage	Diocese of Arezzo-Cortona-Sansepolcro; Franciscan Tertiaries; promoters of Christian unity
Attributes	Papal tiara and vestments; the Acts of the Second Council of Lyon
Birthplace	Piacenza, Italy
Death Place	Arezzo, Tuscany, Italy
Cause of Death	Fever; died 10 January 1276 at Arezzo while returning from the Second Council of Lyon
Primary Shrine	Cathedral of Saints Peter and Donatus (Duomo di Arezzo), Arezzo, Italy
Liturgical Class	Not in the General Roman Calendar; observed locally in the Diocese of Arezzo-Cortona-Sansepolcro and by Franciscan Tertiaries
Historic Class	Not included

Biography

Birth and early career

Teobaldo Visconti was born around 1210 in Piacenza, in what was then the Holy Roman Empire. His family, the Visconti of Piacenza, was distinct from the later ruling Visconti dynasty of Milan. As a young man he attached himself to the household of Cardinal Ottobono Fieschi (later Pope Adrian V) and received a legal and theological education, likely at Paris. He also had contact with leading Franciscan and Dominican scholars of the mid-thirteenth century, including Saint Bonaventure and, it is said, Thomas Aquinas, when he helped organise the First Council of Lyon in 1245 as a member of the cardinal's entourage.

By the 1260s Teobaldo held the office of Archdeacon of Liège in the Holy Roman Empire, a senior position in the Church that in the medieval period could be held by someone in minor orders rather than a fully ordained priest. When Pope Clement IV died in November 1268, Teobaldo had already joined the retinue of Prince Edward of England for what would become the Ninth Crusade, departing for the Holy Land; he was at Acre in Palestine when he received the astonishing news of his election as pope.

The conclave of 1268–1271

The conclave of 1268–1271 at Viterbo was the longest in the history of the Catholic Church, lasting two years, nine months, and two days. Eighteen cardinals gathered at Viterbo in November 1268. Divided by the competing interests of the French and Italian factions, and distracted by external political pressures — in particular the question of who should rule the Kingdom of Sicily after the death of Conradin — the college was deadlocked for year after year. The local magistrates, desperate to end the impasse, eventually locked the cardinals into the episcopal palace and, according to tradition, removed part of the roof to expose them to the elements. When the cardinals finally submitted six of their number to act as a committee of compromise (compromissarii), the six unanimously chose Teobaldo Visconti — then absent in the Holy Land — on 1 September 1271.

The new pope returned to Italy, was ordained deacon and priest in rapid succession, and was consecrated bishop and pope at Rome on 27 March 1272, taking the name Gregory X.

Pontificate

Gregory X's pontificate had three overriding aims: reuniting the Latin and Greek Churches, promoting a new crusade, and reforming the election of future popes to prevent a repetition of the disastrous interregnum of 1268–1271.

The instrument for achieving the first two goals was the Second Council of Lyon, which Gregory convened and presided over from May to July 1274. The Council was among the most heavily attended of the medieval councils. James I of Aragon attended in person; Bonaventure and Albert the Great were present (Bonaventure dying at Lyon on 15 July 1274, in the midst of the proceedings). Thomas Aquinas died on the road to Lyon before reaching the city. The reunion decree Constitutiones Lugdunenses was accepted by representatives of the Emperor Michael VIII Palaeologus — who recognised the Roman primacy in exchange for political support against Charles of Anjou — though the union was to prove short-lived, repudiated by the Greek Church within a few years of Gregory's death. The Council also enacted a tithe on all church benefices for six years to finance a crusade — though Gregory died before the expedition could be organised — and took steps to regulate the affairs of the mendicant orders.

The decree on conclaves, Ubi periculum, promulgated at Lyon on 7 May 1274, drew directly on Gregory's personal memory of the Viterbo deadlock. The decree required that the cardinals enter into strict enclosure (the conclave, literally under lock and key) within ten days of a pope's death, with their food progressively reduced if they had not reached a decision after three days; outside communications were strictly forbidden. Though briefly suspended by his immediate successors Adrian V and John XXI, the rules of Ubi periculum became the permanent basis of the conclave system that continues — in revised form — to the present day.

Gregory also played a significant role in settling conflicts between secular rulers. He recognised Rudolf I of Habsburg as Holy Roman Emperor in 1273, ending the long German interregnum and establishing the Habsburg dynasty as the new power in the Empire. He worked to reconcile the rival Guelf and Ghibelline factions in the Italian cities, with mixed success.

Death and burial

Gregory X died on 10 January 1276 at Arezzo, where he had stopped while travelling from Lyon back to Rome, carried off by a high fever. He was buried in the cathedral of Arezzo, where his tomb became an object of local devotion.

Significant events

• Born c. 1210 at Piacenza; Archdeacon of Liège; Franciscan Tertiary.
• Accompanied Prince Edward of England on the Ninth Crusade to Acre.
• Elected pope at Viterbo, 1 September 1271, after the longest conclave in Church history (over 2 years, 9 months).
• Ordained priest, consecrated bishop and pope, 27 March 1272.
• Recognised Rudolf of Habsburg as Holy Roman Emperor (1273).
• Convened the Second Council of Lyon (1274); achieved temporary reunion with the Greek Church.
• Promulgated Ubi periculum — the foundational decree on the papal conclave system.
• Died at Arezzo, 10 January 1276.
• Beatification confirmed by Pope Clement XI, 8 July 1713.
• Cause for canonization reopened by Pius XII, 1944; still open.

Significant locations

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Legend

• Birth location: Piacenza, Italy
• Death location: Arezzo, Tuscany, Italy
• Notable location: Birthplace of Teobaldo Visconti (Piacenza, Italy)
• Notable location: Site of the historic 1268–1271 conclave that elected him (Viterbo, Italy)
• Notable location: Site of the Second Council of Lyon (1274), convened by Gregory X (Lyons (Lyon), France)
• Notable location: Where he died (10 Jan 1276) and is buried in the cathedral (Arezzo, Italy)
• Notable location: Where he received news of his election while on Crusade with Prince Edward of England (Acre (Akko), Israel)

Dynamic content

Parishes

No parishes dedicated to Pope Gregory X have been added to the database yet.

Media

Media	Length	AuthorCreator
Blessed Pope Gregory X	5–15 minutes	Daily Lives of Franciscan Saints
Blessed Pope Gregory X	5–15 minutes	Radio Immaculata
The Pope Who Created the Conclave | Blessed Pope Gregory X #shorts	Under 5 minutes	Saints Stories

Shrines

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Canonization

Beatification

The local cult of Gregory X at Arezzo was confirmed by Pope Clement XI on 8 July 1713 — an act of equipollent beatification recognising the immemorial veneration of his tomb in the cathedral. He was named patron of the Diocese of Arezzo and of the Franciscan Secular Order. His cause for formal canonization was re-opened under Pope Pius XII in 1944 and remains active, awaiting the approval of a miracle.

Feast day

January 10 (anniversary of his death)

Veneration

Blessed Gregory X is venerated in the Cathedral of Saints Peter and Donatus in Arezzo, where his remains rest. He is honoured as a reformer of the Church's electoral procedure, as a promoter of Christian unity, and as a supporter of the crusading movement. In art he is depicted in full papal vestments with a model of the Second Council of Lyon or with the decrees of Ubi periculum. His intercession is invoked for Christian unity and for the reform of institutions.

Prayers

Authored

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Intercessory

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External links

• Wikipedia – Pope Gregory X
• New Advent Catholic Encyclopedia – Pope Gregory X
• Britannica – Blessed Gregory X
• CatholicSaints.Info – Pope Blessed Gregory X
• OFS/CIOFS – Blessed Pope Gregory X (Jan. 10)