December 19, 2023 / 12:01 AM
Today, like every December 19, the Church remembers Blessed Urban V, pontiff number 200 of the Catholic Church. He ruled between 1362 and 1370, during one of the most difficult times in the history of the Church, known as “the Avignon exile.”
Avignon
During this period, the Popes had to leave the city of Rome, seat of the papacy since the 1st century, due to continuous revolts and conflicts between the Italian crowns or houses. The pontiffs consequently settled in Avignon, France, shortly after the year 1300. Urban V was the sixth pope in exile.