Pierre Girard [1] was born in the commune of Saint-Symphorien-sur-Coise, in the Department of Rhone, once in the ancient County of Forez. He died in Avignon on 9 November 1415. He was Bishop of Lodeve and then Bishop of Le Puy. He was a cardinal of the Avignon Obedience during the Great Western Schism, and was promoted to the Bishopric of Tusculum (Frascati). His principal work, however, was as a courtier and administrator at Avignon, and as a papal diplomat.
In his Testament, Pierre Girard mentions a brother, Jean Terralli, and several consanguinei: Jean Girard (who has children), John's sister Margarita, Lucia the wife of Jean Arnaudi, and Joannes Polerii. [2]
Pierre began his education as a choir boy in the Choir School of the Cathedral of Saint Jean in Lyon, called the Manécanterie ('morning chant'). [3]
Pierre was Archdeacon of Bourges by 9 February 1373. [4] He held the Licenciate in Civil and Canon Law by 1374. [5] He was a cleric of the Apostolic Chamber (the papal finance ministry), and Canon and Provost of Marseille from 1374 to 1382. [6]
On 8 June 1381, Girard was named papal Nuncio to France (Apostolicae Sedis in lingua gallicana nuncio) by Pope Clement VII "for certain difficult business for the Pope and the Holy Roman Church", and was particularly ordered to investigate the situation in the diocese of Nantes, where the diocese was being administered by procurators appointed by the bishop on the alleged grounds that he was aged and "lacking in discretion". [7] There was disorder everywhere, caused by the Great Western Schism, and Pope Clement was obviously interested in supporting bishops who supported him, against obstinate supporters of Urban VI. By 4 September 1381 Pierre was being addressed by the Pope as electus Lodovensis. He had received a major promotion for his work.
Girard was granted his bulls as Bishop of Lodève by Pope Clement VII on 17 October 1382. On 29 October he was found in Paris, with the Bishops of Paris and Geneva, sent to punish a Collector of the Apostolic Chamber who had committed various crimes. [8]
Girard was transferred to the diocese of Le Puy on 17 July 1385 by Pope Clement VII. [9] He was installed by proxy on 30 July, and in person on 22 September 1388. [10] He held the See until his promotion to the Cardinalate in 1390. [11]
In 1386, two of Urban VI's cardinals, Pileus de Prata and Galeozzo de Petramala, withdrew from Urban's allegiance and joined that of Clement VII. Clement sent Bishop Girard to bring the two cardinals a proper red hat, and on 13 June 1387 Cardinal de Prata was named Cardinal Priest of Santa Prisca, while Cardinal de Petramalari was named Cardinal Deacon of San Giorgio in Velabro on 5 May 1388. [12]
On 15 November 1388, Girard was present at the deathbed of Cardinal Pierre de Cros, as he made his Last Will and Testament. [13]
Pierre Girard was created a cardinal by Pope Clement VII on 17 October 1390, and assigned the titular church of San Pietro in Vincoli on 21 December 1390. [14]
Clement VII died in Avignon on 16 September 1394. When the news reached Paris on 23 September, the University of Paris immediately sent a delegation to the King. They argued that the moment had arrived to heal the schism, and they requested the King to intervene with the Cardinals to postpone the election of a new pope. Time was needed for multiple consultations as to the best way forward, and the King should even consult with the pope of the Roman Obedience, Boniface IX, in the hope of coming to some sort of agreement. The King consulted with his royal Council, and decided to send Renaud de Roye to Avignon immediately with a letter from the King. The Conclave, however, began on September 26, though before the Conclave was locked up, a fast messenger from the King brought a royal letter. The Cardinals, believing that they knew what was in the message, decided not to open it until the Conclave was over. They thereby preserved their canonical rights. Cardinal Girard participated in the Conclave of 1394, which then went forward. Cardinal Pedro de Luna was elected on 28 September 1394, and took the name Benedict XIII. The opportunity to heal the schism had been missed. [15]
Cardinal Girard was named Suburbicarian Bishop of Tusculum (Frascati) in 1402 by Pope Benedict XIII. [16] He was also named Major Penitentiary. [17] He still held the office when he signed his Testament at Bologna in November 1410 under John XXIII. [18]
On 2 February 1395 a meeting of the French clergy was convened in the royal palace in Paris in the name of King Charles VI, for the purpose of tendering advice to the King as to the means to end the Great Western Schism, which had been going on for nearly seventeen years, with no signs of resolution. Over 150 letters of summons were issued. The consensus of the meeting was that the "Way of Cession" (resignation of both contenders and election of a new pope for both Obediences) was the most efficient solution. The three royal dukes, Berri, Bourbon and Anjou, who had in fact inspired the meeting, were sent to lead a delegation to discuss the matter with Benedict XIII in Avignon. [19] Conferences with the Pope took place at the end of June in Villeneuve, where the Pope was staying at the time, but the Pope finally withdrew from personal attendance, saying it was beneath the papal dignity to negotiate in public. [20] The three dukes then held a consultation with the Cardinals in the Duke de Bourbon's residence in Avignon, and each cardinal was asked in turn for his opinion on the various proposals to resolve the schism. Cardinal Girard pronounced in favor of the "Way of Cession", stating that Clement VII on several occasions had promised that he would resign the papacy to save the Church. [21]
Cardinal Girard was already working with the French Court and Benedict XIII to maintain cordial relations. On 25 May 1385, in his capacity as Major Penitentiary, he granted faculties to the Bishop of Paris to dispense four couples who wished to marry from the impediment of close relationship to the fourth degree of kinhood. It happened that one such couple in the diocese of Paris were Isabelle, daughter of King Charles VI, and her betrothed, King Richard II of England. Evidently Benedict XIII did not want to be seen to be too closely linked to the French monarchy, and his fertile mind as a former professor of Canon Law saw in the Major Penitentiary a way to do what was necessary without attracting public criticism of being a tool of the King of France. [22]
On 1 September 1398 at Villeneuve eighteen cardinals, among them Pierre Girard, published the retraction of their obedience to Benedict XIII. A few weeks later, after negotiations with the pontiff, they returned to their obedience. [23]
In 1407 Cardinal Girard returned to his birthplace in Saint-Symphorien, [24] where he built a church and established in it a College of Canons. The church was the recipient of generous benefactions in the Cardinal's Testament. [25]
On 29 June 1408, thirteen cardinals (who held the proxies of two additional cardinals) met in the port city of Livorno in Italy, where they prepared a manifesto, in which they pledged themselves to summon a general council of the Church to solve the problem of the Great Western Schism. One of them was Pierre Girard, Cardinal Bishop of Tusculum (Frascati). [26] When the Council finally met on 25 March 1410, Girard was a prominent member of the Council. When the vote was called for on 10 May 1409 in the matter of deposing and anathematizing Benedict XIII and Gregory XII, the vote was nearly unanimous, except for Cardinal Guy de Malsec and Cardinal Niccolò Brancaccio, who asked for more time to consider. [27] The sentence was finally read on 5 June.
Cardinal Girard was one of the twenty-four cardinals who took part in the Conclave that was held during the Council of Pisa, from 15 June to 26 June 1409. Cardinal Pietro Filargo was elected, and chose the name Alexander V. [28] Unfortunately he survived only 10½ months, but during that time, in a gesture intended to heal the wounds of the schism, he issued a papal decree legitimizing all of the cardinals of all the obediences.
Cardinal Girard participated in the Conclave of 1410 in Bologna. [29]
Cardinal Pierre Girard composed his Testament at Bologna in the house of the Servants of Mary on 7 November 1410, the first year of Pope John XXIII. The Notary remarks that the document filled six large folio pages. In addition to Cardinal Niccolò Brancaccio and Jean Allarmet de Brogny one of the executors was a consanguineus of Cardinal Girard, Joannes Polerii, Bachelor of Laws and Sacristan of the Cathedral of Saint Paul in London. [30] The testament remarks that at the time he possessed thirty benefices, twenty-six of which were priories. [31] He died in Avignon on 9 November 1415. He was buried at Saint-Symphorien-sur-Coise, in the crypt of the Collegiate Church on the summit of the hill, on the Rue Cardinal Giraud, which the Cardinal had built. [32] This was in accordance with his Last Will and Testament. [33]
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.
Guy de Malsec was a French bishop and cardinal. He was born at the family's fief at Malsec (Maillesec), in the diocese of Tulle. He had two sisters, Berauda and Agnes, who both became nuns at the Monastery of Pruliano (Pruilly) in the diocese of Carcassonne, and two nieces Heliota and Florence, who became nuns at the Monastery of S. Prassede in Avignon. He was a nephew of Pope Gregory XI, or perhaps a more distant relative. He was also a nephew of Pope Innocent VI. Guy was baptized in the church of S. Privatus, some 30 km southeast of Tulle. He played a part in the election of Benedict XIII of the Avignon Obedience in 1394, in his status as second most senior cardinal. He played an even more prominent role in Benedict's repudiation and deposition. Guy de Malsec was sometimes referred to as the 'Cardinal of Poitiers' (Pictavensis) or the 'Cardinal of Palestrina' (Penestrinus).
The Archdiocese of Aix-en-Provence and Arles is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or archdiocese of the Catholic Church in France. The archepiscopal see is located in the city of Aix-en-Provence. The diocese comprises the department of Bouches-du-Rhône, in the Region of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur. It is currently a suffragan of the Archdiocese of Marseilles and consequently the archbishop no longer wears the pallium.
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Tarbes et Lourdes is a Roman Catholic Latin Rite diocese in France. Until 2002 Tarbes was a suffragan of the Archdiocese of Auch. It is now a suffragan of the Archdiocese of Toulouse.
The bishopric of Lavaur was founded by Pope John XXII in his plan to reorganize the sprawling diocese of Toulouse. The town is situated some fifteen miles to the east of Toulouse. Lavaur had the reputation of being one of the strongest centers of Catharism, being referred to as sedes Satanae, atque erroris haeretici primatica ('seat of Satan and prime source of heretical error' The diocese consisted of some 80–90 parishes. It hosted one abbey, that of Sorèz, a convent of the Clarisses, a convent of the Daughters of the Cross, a convent of Dominicans, one of Franciscans, one of Capuchins, two of reformed Dominicans, and two houses of the Doctrinaires. The diocese produced some 35,000 livres for the bishop.
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Viviers is a diocese of the Latin Church of the Roman Catholic Church in France. Erected in the 4th century, the diocese was restored in the Concordat of 1822, and comprises the department of Ardèche, in the Region of Rhône-Alpes. Currently the diocese is a suffragan of the Archdiocese of Lyon. Its current bishop is Jean-Louis Marie Balsa, appointed in 2015.
The former French Catholic diocese of Riez existed at least from fifth century Gaul to the French Revolution. Its see was at Riez, in the modern department of Alpes-de-Haute-Provence.
The former French Catholic diocese of Saint-Pons-de-Thomières existed from 1317 until the French Revolution. Its see at Saint-Pons-de-Thomières in southern France is in the modern department of Hérault. There was the Abbey of St-Pons, founded in 936 by Raymond, Count of Toulouse, who brought there the monks of St-Géraud d'Aurillac.
The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Poitiers is an archdiocese of the Latin Church of the Catholic Church in France. The archepiscopal see is in the city of Poitiers. The Diocese of Poitiers includes the two Departments of Vienne and Deux-Sèvres. The Concordat of 1802 added to the see besides the ancient Diocese of Poitiers a part of the Diocese of La Rochelle and Saintes.
The Diocese of Dax or Acqs was a Roman Catholic ecclesiastical territory in Gascony in south-west France. According to tradition it was established in the 5th century. It was suppressed after the French Revolution, by the Concordat of 1801 between First Consul Napoleon Bonaparte and Pope Pius VII. Its territory now belongs to the Diocese of Aire and Diocese of Bayonne.
The former French Catholic diocese of Apt, in southeast France, existed from the fourth century until the French Revolution. By the Concordat of 1801, it was suppressed, and its territory was divided between the diocese of Digne and the diocese of Avignon. Its seat was at Apt Cathedral, in Vaucluse.
Pierre Desprès (1288–1361) was a French Cardinal during the period of the Avignon Papacy.
Audouin Aubert was a French jurist, bishop and Cardinal.
Pierre de Murat de Cros, O.S.B., was a French monk of aristocratic origins who became a cardinal of the Avignon Obedience during the Great Schism, as well as the Archbishop of Arles and the Chamberlain of the Apostolic Camera. Refusing from the day of his election to support Bartolomeo Prignano after the Papal Conclave of 1378, de Cros played a critical role in delivering a considerable portion of the Roman Curia to the rival claimant Robert of Geneva, who took the name Clement VII. Historian Daniel Williman calls Murat de Cros's actions a "counter-coup".
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".
Pierre Aycelin de Montaigut or Montaigu, Montagu, known as Cardinal de Laon, born between 1320 and 1325 and died 8 November 1388, was a fourteenth-century French cardinal, who was the bishop of Nevers (1361–1371) and bishop of the Diocese of Laon (1371-1386), advisor to the king of Charles V and peer of France.
Pasteur de Sarrats was a French Franciscan friar, bishop and Cardinal. He was born in the village of Aubenas in the Vivarais, or he took his monastic vows in the monastery of Aubenas. Pasteur may have had a brother. A bull of Benedict XII, dated 13 April 1337, grants the parish church of S. Martin de Valle Gorgia in the diocese of Viviers to Pierre de Serraescuderio, Canon of Viviers since 1333, who held a parish of S. Pierre de Melon in the diocese of Uzès. Pasteur died in Avignon in 1356.
Pierre de Thury was a French bishop and cardinal of the Avignon Obedience, who served as a royal secretary and Master of Requests, and then as papal Nuncio and Apostolic Legate on several occasions. He participated in two papal elections, those of 1394 and 1409, and was a prominent member of the Council of Pisa in 1409.
Niccolò Brancaccio was born in the Kingdom of Naples, perhaps in Naples itself. He was Archbishop of Bari and then Archbishop of Cosenza, while serving in the Roman Curia in Avignon. He became a cardinal of the Avignon Obedience in 1378, and was Cardinal Priest of Santa Maria in Trastevere and then Cardinal Bishop of Albano. He participated in the Council of Pisa in 1409, and was one of the electors of Pope Alexander V and of Pope John XXIII.
Antoine de Challant, was a Savoyard cleric who served as Chancellor of the Count of Savoy and was coopted into the papal curia by Pope Benedict XIII of the Avignon Obedience, who created him a cardinal and named him Archbishop of Moûtiers-Tarentaise. He served principally as a diplomat for the pope in negotiations directed toward the settling of the Great Western Schism, though his efforts had to be directed mostly to keeping Benedict from being repudiated by the French government. He himself finally abandoned Benedict and joined the cardinals who called for a general council of the Church. He participated in the Council of Pisa, and was one of the electors of Pope Alexander V. He also participated in the Council of Constance, and was one of the electors of Pope Martin V.