“Come, come, and resist no more the will of God that calls you; and the hungry sheep await your coming to hold and possess the place of your predecessor and champion, Apostle Peter. For you, as the Vicar of Christ, should rest in your own place. Come, then, come, and delay no more; and comfort you, and fear not for anything that might happen, since God will be with you” [1].
In 1305 the cardinals of the Catholic Church met to elect a new pope, the archbishop of Bordeaus, Clement V. As Bishop of Rome, Clement V moved the papacy to Avignon, France in 1309 due to the influence of French kings, the security they provided, and the chaos arising in Rome including antipapal uprisings. This change caused a scandal because the papacy was now deprived of financial and military independence and ultimately contributed to what would become the Great Schism. Due to financial, diplomatic, and military factors, the Avignon papacy lasted during the reign of seven popes. Pope Gregory XI, impelled by the intercession of St. Catherine of Siena, became the last pope to reside in Avignon returning to Rome in 1377 [2].
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| St. Catherine of Siena and Pope Gregory XI by Giovanni di Paolo [6]. |
Pope Gregory XI
Pierre Roger de Beaufort (1331- 1378) was a nephew of Pope Clement VI and since his youth was favored by him. He became a cardinal-deacon at the age of eighteen and later a theologian and canonist. After the death of Urban V, he was elected pope at Avignon on December of 1370. Pierre was ordained priest January 4, 1371, and became Pope Gregory XI the following day. He is remembered for being humble and pure of heart. During his papacy, he strove to establish peace, which he did successfully in Castile, Aragon, Navarre, Sicily, and Naples. He took on the undertaking of a crusade and attempted to unify the Church of the East and the West. Most importantly, the Lord used Pope Gregory XI to return the papacy to Rome [3].
St. Catherine of Siena
Caterina Benincasa (1347-1380) was chosen by the Lord at since her childhood to be totally His and to place her life at the service of the Church. At the age of seven, she consecrated her virginity to the Lord after seeing Jesus in his glory in a vision [4]. She became a Dominican tertiary taking simple vows and joining the Sisters of Penitence of St. Dominic in Siena. She is remembered for her severe asceticism, mystic experiences, and for her mediation in the life of the Church, especially her prayers and letters to the holy fathers of the time, Pope Gregory XI . A total of 380 letters, 26 prayers, and The Dialogue have been preserved of her writings. She was declared patroness of Italy, patroness of Europe in 1999, and Doctor of the Church in 1970 [5].
In her correspondence to Pope Gregory XI, St. Catherine of Siena writes full of confidence and tenderness to her “’Babbo’ […] translated only by ‘Daddy.’” [1].
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| St. Catherine of Siena writing a letter. [7] |
First, she reassures him of her fidelity, and in her, the fidelity of the Church as she writes, “Yours we are, father!” [1].
Then, she expresses her desire to see reform in the Church. Necessarily, the transformation of the Church would have to be by the conversion of the hearts of those who make up the Church, beginning with the Holy Father himself. “Pardon me, pardon me; for the great love which I bear to your salvation, […] Willingly would I have said it to your own person, fully to unburden my conscience […] I die and cannot die, my heart breaks and cannot break, from the desire that I have of the renewal of Holy Church, for the honor of God and the salvation of every creature” [1].
Many of the desires of the Lord’s Heart which He communicates to St. Catherine and are recorded in The Dialogue she communicates to Pope Gregory XI. “Christ holds three vices as especially evil--impurity, avarice, and swollen pride, which reign in the Bride of Christ among the prelates, who care for nothing but luxuries and honors and vast riches” [1]. She recognized by the light of the Holy Spirit the inclinations of the heart of Pope Gregory XI to which she responds, “I hope by the goodness of God, venerable father mine, that you will quench this [self-love] in yourself, and will not love yourself for your own sake, nor your neighbor, nor God”; for “dangers beset him in his devotion to the interests of ‘friends and parents’” [1].
St. Catherine urgently asked the Holy Father to embrace his Petrine mission especially in disciplining the Church with love, calling her forth to be who She is. Shepherd’s fear and negligence had prevented them from corrections, but “if a wound when necessary is not cauterized or cut out with steel, but simply covered with ointment, not only does it fail to heal, but it infects everything, and many a time death follows from it” [1]. She even insists that “since He has given you authority and you have assumed it, you should use your virtue and power: and if you are not willing to use it, it would be better for you to resign what you have assumed; more honor to God and health to your soul would it be” [1].
Lastly, she tirelessly calls the Bishop of Rome home from Avignon, “for I reflect, sweet my "Babbo," that the wolf is carrying away your sheep, and there is no one found to help them […] Up, father, like a man! For I tell you that you have no need to fear. You ought to come; come, then. Come gently, without any fear. And if any at home wish to hinder you, say to them bravely, as Christ said when St. Peter, through tenderness, wished to draw Him back from going to His passion; Christ turned to him, saying, "Get thee behind Me, Satan; thou art an offence to Me, seeking the things which are of men, and not those which are of God. Wilt thou not that I fulfill the will of My Father? […] Do not delay, then, your coming” [1].
Led by the Holy Spirit and impelled by the intercession of St. Catherine of Siena on behalf of the Church, Pope Gregory XI returned as Bishop of Rome to reside in Rome from Avignon in the year 1377 [2].
Sources
[1]. Of Siena, Catherine. "Saint Catherine of Siena As Seen in Her Letters." Saint Catherine of Siena As Seen in Her Letters from Project Gutenberg. Drawn by Love, 4 June 2004. Web. 1 July 2017. <http://www.drawnbylove.com/Scudder%20letters.htm>.
[2]. Vidmar, OP, John. The Catholic Church Through the Ages: A History, Second Edition. New Jersey: Paulist Press, 2014. Print. 161.
[3].. http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/06799a.htm
[4].. http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/03447a.htm
[5]. "St. Catherine of Siena." Britannica Academic, Encyclopedia Britannica, 30 Mar. 2017. academic.eb.com/levels/collegiate/article/St-Catherine-of-Siena/21816. Accessed 3 Jul. 2017.
[6]. Image: http://onceiwasacleverboy.blogspot.com/2013_03_01_archive.html
[7]. Image: http://www.ancient-origins.net/sites/default/files/Saint-Catherine-of-Siena-writing.jpg
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