Who Is Pope Gregory VII?

The wealthy Romans would pick popes who would help them curry favor and obtain political prominence, these popes cared more for their own virtues than the virtues of the church. This caused church's to acquire more power and funding, though the church did not stay this way forever. Pope Gregory VII

In the cool foggy streets of Rome people busily going about their days work. Walking through the marketplace, Pope Gregory spotted a queer sight. There at the slave auction stood three fair skinned boys. The slave auctioneer told him they were from Britain and their people were called Anglo Saxons. Pope Gregory felt sorry for the boys and bought all three and went home to teach and take care of them.

During the late 14th century and the early 15th century there was a great division in the Catholic Church. The Papacy was becoming blurred. The center of the Roman Catholic Church had been moved from Rome to the city of Avignon during the reign of Pope Clement V; and there was now a movement to return the center of power back to Rome. This movement was first truly seen under Pope Gregory XI and his successor Pope Urban VI. Earlier Pope Urban V had moved the center to Rome but it had been proven to be no more than a temporary idea; he had gone back to Avignon to die and there his replacement, Pope Gregory XI was elected . This along with other political problems and circumstances created a split in the loyalty among

He proclaimed a jubilee year, in which thousands of pilgrims came to Rome, leaving massive amounts of money behind. Then the papacy began to unravel; Pope Boniface VIII excommunicated Philip IV, King of France, who in turn kidnapped the Pope and held him hostage. As a result of his captivity, Pope Boniface VIII died miserably. His successor, Benedict XI, lived for only a short while, and after his death the papal election was deadlocked. The College of the Cardinals finally elected Clement V, a Frenchman, as pope. He then moved to Avignon, which was essentially in France. Seven successive popes ruled out of Avignon; their reigns lasting almost 70 years. Pope Gregory XI then moved to Rome, ending the Avignon papacy. The College of Cardinals then selected Pope Urban VI as pope, but then they regretted it and elected another pope, Pope Clement VII, who moved back to Avignon. The rival popes and their successors continued to rule separately until Pope Martin V was elected by an ecunemiel council. The events of the 14th century weakened the papacy, and some started to see its hypocrisy. The stage was set for an attack on papal power, but not merely its temporal power, as before. The spiritual authority of the Pope as the Vicar of Christ, was about to be under

Throughout the central Middle Ages, Europe was characterized by the power struggle between the secular and the ecclesiastic. The question of rule by God or by man was one which arose with unwavering frequency among scholars, clergy, and nobility alike. The line which separated church and state was blurry at best, leading to the development of the Investiture Conflict in the eleventh and twelfth centuries, and the attempts to undermine the heir to the throne in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. Four men stand out among dozens in this effort to define the powers of the lay versus that of the spiritual: Emperor/kings Henry IV and John of England, and the popes who aggressively challenged their exertions of authority, Pope Gregory VII

Saint Francis of Assisi had a great childhood, but as he got older his father began to beat him. He lived the life of luxury, and was the the son of a very rich cloth merchant. He was born in Circa, Italy in 1181. He abandoned the life of luxury, for a life devoted to Christianity, and God. He was very devoted into living in poverty, and he rebuilt the Christian church. He is the patron Saint of ecology and animals. He wanted to go to the Christian church reportedly after hearing God’s voice. He insisted that this was his calling and his adulthood confirmed it.

The power of the Bishop in Rome resulted from several factors, including the barbarian invasions, the failure of the emperors to defend their homeland, the success of Christianity, and the fame of the Church. The Roman generals battled over who would rule and thus failed to defend their borders adequately. This created gaps in the land, which was a factor the fall of Rome. With the invasion of the barbarians, it was up to the Church to defend the lands. Pope Gregory greatly influenced the situation. He was responsible for the improved standing of the papacy. He became Rome’s financial officer, and he managed food and water supplies. He created peace with the Lombards, and was able to ransom prisoners from them in the 6th century. He created a new Liturgy of the church, and he believed the purpose of the papacy was to help the poor, thus establishing the papal title “Servant of the servants of Christ.” Gregory turned a self-seeking papacy into an office of kindness and humility.

For over a period of seven hundred plus years, from Gregory the Great’s papacy to Boniface VIII’s papacy, the world experienced many influential popes, whose accomplishments changed the course of history. Many of these popes become known for both their positive accomplishments, which brought prosperity to their people, and for their failures, which in many cases led to their own death. Throughout the given time period, Pope Nicholas II, Pope Gregory VII, Pope Innocent III, and Pope Gregory IX, were all influential popes whose accomplishments are what they are most remembered for. First, Pope Nicholas II decreed that the College of Cardinals would obtain authority to choose the pope. The College of Cardinals was made up of a group of Roman Church officials who were in charge of electing the pope, which was put in place to prevent kings from selecting popes.

Dictatus Papae The disagreement between pope and emperor has always been an issue of Middle Ages. As soon as 1059 (sixteen years earlier than the Dictatus Papae) a papal bull was introduced which eliminated the laity from the election of the pope, plus, the role of emperor was further decreased (even if emperors were practicing the right of veto) in order to accept the decision of Church. Consequently, anti-popes appeared and only a few official popes were accepted. Then methods were implemented for dissolving the complication of unanimous agreement such as s 'acclamation', 'scrutiny' and 'compromissum' although the conflict of elections still exsisted.

Starting in the 12th century, many European countries like Italy were starting to give the pope a lot of power. This resulted in the popes becoming more powerful figures than most of the European counties princes. One example of this was with pope Gregory VII. He believed that he was one of the most

Gregory was born during politically turbulent times in Europe. Economies suffered, agriculture waned, and a plague ravaged rural areas amidst Justinian’s reconquest of Italy (535–554). The bridges, aqueducts, and infrastructure of Rome degraded with age too. The Lombards held North Italy and less than a generation later, they seized Milan, and were threatening Rome. Even still, the Byzantine emperors, who were too far to protect Rome, demanded loyalty and taxes from the people of Italy from its imperial post at Ravenna. Gregory witnessed all of that turmoil which certainly would inspire his career and outlooks. Gregory came from a wealthy Roman family and as a young man he served as prefect of Rome (from 573). The Roman aristocracy which he would have known was losing faith in the power of Rome. Many looked instead to the Church’s message during times that many, including Gregory, viewed as apocalyptic. Gregory gave his property Italy and Sicily to the Church, converted his family mansion in Rome into a monastery, and lived there as a devoted and highly contemplative monk. These early experiences influenced Gregory and his subsequent development of the role of the papacy: “when I rose in contemplation above all changeable and decaying things, and thought of nothing but the things of heaven.” Gregory’s aristocratic background, preference for monasticism, and deep interest in eschatology pervaded his greatest contributions to role of the bishop of Rome by influencing his

In 1591, Pope Gregory XIV fell ill with a gall stone to which his physicians prescribed pulverized gold and gemstones. As one might assume, he soon died of complications regarding his gall stone; however, because his medicine was literally money, the Papal coffers were depleted and Pope Gregory was interred in an non-descript stone coffin in the Vatican. According to one Papal historian, “he was surrounded by stupid physicians or culpable ministers” (de Montor 218). In the United States, we’ve been prescribed a cocktail of healthcare systems that have been depleted our coffers while failing to provide adequate care. Fifteen percent of the American population is uninsured and the cost of healthcare for both the uninsured and the insured is

St. Gregory VII was born in Sovana, Italy around 1020, and his original name was Hildebrand of Sovana. He received his education at a monastery in Rome; since one of his teachers was Pope Gregory VI, he followed the Pope to Cologne where he was exiled. After Gregory VI died, he entered the monastery at Cluny and became a Benedictine monk. Pope Leo IX named Hildebrand as the papal administrator and the treasurer of the Church. His commitment and ethic became distinguished among his peers. Hildebrand was elected pope several years later and took the name Gregory in honor of his former teacher (Catholic Online).

This was evident in his writing to King Henry IV for help in sending armed forces to fight the enemies of God. Pope Gregory struggled with the church getting involved in military battles due to his doctrinal beliefs. Pope Gregory’s successor Pope Urban II had different ideas.

That the Pope gives temporal rule to kings but can withdraw that privilege at any time. That kings are the representative of Christ. By the 1070s, the conflict had become so intense that Pope Gregory VI excommunicated Henry IV. The Emperor admitted his defeat in 1077 when he asked for forgiveness, but