Pope Gregory XI moves the Papacy from Avignon back to Rome

As a King is a leader of a country, the Pope is the leader of Catholicism.  The role and responsibility of the Pope is called the Papacy. Catholicism began somewhere in the 4th century, but this is disputed among historians, and some argue that the Catholic Church could have started as early as the 2nd century. The term “Pope” was not applied to the Bishops of Rome until Damascus I (366-84), and these Bishops of Catholicism had largely based their leadership from Rome throughout the centuries. Despite the Papacy being held in Rome for hundreds of years, there was a brief span of time when the Papacy left Rome.

On this day January 17th, in 1377, Pope Gregory XI returned the Papacy to Rome from Avignon, France. Pope Clement V, a Frenchman, moved the Papacy from Rome to Avignon in 1309, and from there the next seven Popes were all French. This led to another internal controversy of the Catholic Church, something that the Church had dealt with a few centuries earlier when the Catholic Church split in 1066 creating Eastern Orthodox and Catholicism. 1378’s controversy became known as the Western Schism. During this time there were two Popes who would reign, one in Rome, and another in Avignon; however, the Popes in Avignon were considered illegitimate after only a short span of time, lasting a meager 40 years.

The Vatican City houses some of the most gorgeous pieces of artwork known to man. There is the famous Sistine Chapel, whose frescoes were done by  Perugino, Domenico Ghirlandaio, and Botticelli. The Sistine Chapel’s ceiling painted by none of other than Michelangelo, who is said to have almost gone blind from painting the ceiling because he would lie on his back hoisted up close to the ceiling, and sometimes the lead paint would drop into his eyes. The Vatican also houses one of the largest libraries in the world. The Pope resides and will continue to reside in Rome in the Vatican City.