Pope Clement VI, born Pierre Roger, was head of the Catholic Church from 7 May 1342 to his death, in December 1352. He was the fourth Avignon pope. Clement reigned during the first visitation of the Black Death (1348–1350), during which he granted remission of sins to all who died of the plague.
Pope Urban V, born Guillaume de Grimoard, was the head of the Catholic Church from 28 September 1362 until his death, in December 1370 and was also a member of the Order of Saint Benedict. He was the only Avignon pope to be beatified.
The dean of the College of Cardinals presides over the College of Cardinals in the Catholic Church, serving as primus inter pares. The position was established in the 12th century. He always holds the rank of a cardinal bishop, and is assisted by a vice-dean. Both are elected by and from the cardinal bishops who are not Eastern Catholic patriarchs, with their election subject to papal confirmation. Except for presiding over the college, the dean and vice-dean have no power over the other cardinals. In the order of precedence in the Catholic Church, the dean and vice-dean, as the two most senior cardinals, are placed second and third, respectively, after the pope.
The 1534 papal conclave was convened after the death of Pope Clement VII, and elected as his successor Cardinal Alessandro Farnese, who became Pope Paul III.
The papal conclave held from 5 to 7 May 1342 was convened after the death of Pope Benedict XII and elected Cardinal Pierre Roger to succeed as pope. The fourth pope of the period of the Avignon Papacy, he took the name Clement VI.
Pierre Desprès (1288–1361) was a French Cardinal during the period of the Avignon Papacy.
The 1572 papal conclave, convoked after the death of Pope Pius V, elected Cardinal Ugo Boncompagni, who took the name Gregory XIII.
Angel de Grimoard, also recorded as Angelic or Anglic, was a French canon regular and a Cardinal. He was the younger brother of Pope Urban V.
Audouin Aubert was a French jurist, bishop and Cardinal.
The 1447 papal conclave, meeting in the Roman basilica of Santa Maria sopra Minerva, elected Pope Nicholas V (Parentucelli) to succeed Pope Eugene IV (Condulmer).
Pope Innocent VI (1352–1362) created fifteen cardinals in three consistories.
Pope John XXII (1316–1334) created 28 new cardinals in six consistories:
Guy of Boulogne was a statesman and cardinal who served the Avignon Papacy for 33 years. He participated in the papal conclaves of 1352, 1362 and 1370, and was the Subdean of the Sacred College of Cardinals. His diplomatic postings were extensive, including Hungary, Italy, and Spain. He headed an effort to end the Hundred Years' War. The historian Kenneth Setton called him "one of the commanding figures of his day, and the letters of Petrarch abound with references to him".
Pope Clement VI created 25 new cardinals in four consistories:
Pope Benedict XII created six new cardinals in one consistory celebrated on 18 December 1338:
- Gozzio Battaglia, patriarch of Constantinople – cardinal-priest of S. Prisca, † 10 June 1348
- Bertrand de Déaulx, archbishop of Embrun – cardinal-priest of S. Marco, then cardinal-bishop of Sabina, † 21 October 1355
- Pierre Roger, O.S.B., archbishop of Rouen – cardinal-priest of SS. Nereo ed Achilleo, became Pope Clement VI on 7 May 1342, † 6 December 1352
- Guillaume de Court, O.Cist., bishop of Albi – cardinal-priest of SS. IV Coronati, then cardinal-bishop of Tusculum, † 12 June 1361
- Bernard d'Albi, bishop of Rodez – cardinal-priest of S. Ciriaco alle Terme, then cardinal-bishop of Porto e Santa Rufina, † 23 November 1350
- Guillaume d'Aure, O.S.B., abbot of Montolieu – cardinal-priest of S. Stefano al Monte Celio, † 3 December 1353
Guillaume-Hugues d'Estaing was a French Roman Catholic cardinal and bishop.
Nicolas de Besse was born in the diocese of Limoges, in 1322. He was a French bishop and Cardinal. He was the son of Jacques de Besse, Seigneur de Bellefaye and Almodie (Delphine) Roger, sister of Pope Clement VI. He had a brother Pierre de Besse, who became Seigneur de Bellefaye and who married Margueritte de Thiers. Nicolas de Besse died in Rome on 5 November 1369.
Guillaume d'Aure, OSB, was born in Toulouse, France and died on 3 December 1353 in Avignon. He was a French Benedictine monk and Cardinal. He was the son of Bernard VII Dodon, Count of Comminges, and Bertrande, Countess d'Aure, daughter of Arnaud, Vicomte de l'Arboust. He had a brother, Raymond Roger d'Aure.
Bertrand de Déaulx was a French bishop, diplomat, and Cardinal. He was born, perhaps around 1290, in Castrum de Blandiaco in the diocese of Uzès; or in Déaulx. He died in Avignon in 1355. Trained as a lawyer and teacher of law, he practiced in the papal courts and became an arbitrator and diplomat for the Papacy. He had several assignments in Italy and one in Catalonia. He was responsible for the reorganization of the University of Montpellier and the granting of revised charters.
Raymond de Canillac was a French lawyer, bishop, and cardinal. He was born at Roche de Canilhac, the family castle, in the diocese of Mende in the Gevaudan in central France, the son of Guillaume de Canillac and a sister of Cardinal Bertrand de Déaulx. Both of his uncles, Pons and Guy, were successively abbots of Aniane, as was a nephew of the Cardinal, also called Pons. In 1345 his niece Garine, the daughter of his brother Marquis and of Alixène de Poitiers-Valentinois, married Guillaume Roger, Vicount of Beaufort, the brother of Cardinal Pierre Roger de Beaufort, who became Pope Clement VI. Raymond became a member of the Canons Regular of Saint Augustine (CRSA). He studied law at the University of Montpellier, and obtained the degree of Doctor in utroque iure.
