Urban VI
Urbano VI (Latin: Urbanus VI), secular name Bartolomeo Prignano (Itri, c. 1318-Rome, 15 December October 1389) was the 202nd pope of the Catholic Church between 1378 and 1389. He was elected Roman pontiff in one of the shortest and most contentious conclaves in Church history. He was also the first Italian pope after almost seventy years of the period known as the Avignon Papacy and the last pontiff in history to be elected without previously being a cardinal.
Origins
Born Bartolomeo de Prignano, he emigrated with his family to Avignon in 1338. In 1364 he was consecrated Archbishop of Acerenza (Naples) and in 1377 he moved to Bari.
Bartolomeo de Prignano was the administrator of Gregory XI, the pope who again transferred the papal see from Avignon to Rome.
Pontificate
Choice
The conclave began on April 7, 1378, with the presence of only 16 cardinals out of the 22 that made up the college of cardinals, since the arrival of the cardinals who were in Avignon was not expected. The cardinals were divided into three factions, each with its own candidate to succeed Gregory XI: two French (Limousin and Gallican) who numbered ten cardinals, and one Italian who had four members. The two remaining cardinals, the Aragonese Pedro de Luna and the French Roberto de Ginebra could be considered neutral.
But the element that would truly influence the papal election was the Roman people, who, fearful that if the election fell to a French cardinal, the papal seat would return to the French city of Avignon, gathered at the entrance of the conclave with shouts of "romano lo volemo" (Roman we want it) and "al manco italiano" (at least Italian). Given that the only Romans present were unfit, one (Francesco Tebaldeschi) for being too old and the other (Pietro Orsini) for being too young, and pressured by the demonstrations in St. Peter's Square, the cardinals chose to elect an Italian, the Neapolitan Bartolomeo Prignano, Archbishop of Bari, who, not being a cardinal, was not participating in the conclave, for which his presence was requested, keeping his election secret since his consent was required.
When Cardinal Orsini tries to address the populace shouting: "Go to San Pietro", he is misinterpreted and the crowd believes that the chosen one has been the Cardinal of San Pietro, the elderly Tebaldeschi. Another cardinal tries to correct the mistake by shouting in turn: "Bari, Bari" thereby indicating that the chosen one is the archbishop of said Italian city. But the crowd believes that what has been announced is that the chosen one has been the French Cardinal Jean de Bar, which causes the assault on the Vatican and the cardinals, fearing for their personal safety, present Tebaldeschi as the new pontiff.
Thanks to this stratagem the cardinals were able to leave the conclave, but when the word spread through Rome that everything is a hoax, the people, shouting “¡non le volemo!” and "cardinals die", prevents them from leaving the city. The situation normalized when Prignano arrived at the conclave, accepted the appointment and clearing up the misunderstanding, he was enthroned as Pope Urban VI with the enthusiasm of the people.
Church reform
All the cardinals, including the French from Avignon, were in favor of Urban VI's first measures to prevent abuses, reform the Roman Curia and promote unity in the Church. However, soon after he begins to show haughty, distrustful and angry in his relations with the cardinals, publicly reproaching them for his absenteeism, luxury and lascivious life.
On the other hand, Urban VI made enemies by meddling in the politics of the Kingdom of Naples, insulting Otto IV of Brunswick-Grubenhagen and declaring that the kingdom was badly governed by Joanna I of Naples, whom he threatened to depose and put in a convent for not having paid the tributes that Naples owed to the Holy See for being a pontifical fiefdom.[citation required]
Anagni's statement
The Pope's attitude, together with the fact that he refused to return to Avignon, led the cardinals, except for the four Italians, encouraged by the referendario Martín de Zalba, to meet with the excuse of the heat in Rome in Anagni where, the On August 9, 1378, they published a declaration to all of Christendom in which they annulled the election of Urban VI, assuring that it was illegal as it had been carried out for fear of mob violence. They declare the Holy See vacant and call the meeting of a new conclave. Some cardinals, especially Italians, demanded the arbitration of an ecumenical council.
The Fondi Schism
On September 20, 1378, hoping that Urban VI would abdicate, the cardinals who had elected him at the time, including the Romans except for the late Tebaldeschi, met in Fondi, in the territory of Naples, proceeded to hold a new election, with the support of Charles V of France, in the person of Cardinal Roberto de Ginebra, who adopted the name of Clement VII, beginning the Western Schism that would last until 1417.
Christendom was divided into two allegiances. The Holy Roman Empire, Flanders and Italy, with the exception of Naples, considered Urbano VI legitimate; Castile, Aragon and Navarre declared a prudent wait, while the rest of Europe gave their support to Antipope Clement VII. Two popes, two colleges of cardinals. Urban VI was declared excommunicated by the French antipope and was called "the Antichrist". Current ecclesiastical opinion considers Urban VI as the elected pope by law, while Clement VII was elected non-canonically, which is why in history he is known by the name of antipope.
Conflict with Carlos III of Naples
Events precipitated. Urban VI appointed 29 cardinals, of which 20 were Italians, deposed Juana de Nápoles for her opposition, naming Carlos Durazzo the new king who, after the death of Queen Juana, lost papal favor for not fulfilling a pact he had made with him, to marry Francisco Prignano, the pope's nephew, with Inés Ruffo, a direct relative of Carlos.
The Pope went to the south of Italy, to the city of Aversa, to negotiate with the king, against the opinion of the cardinals. Upon arriving in the city he was received by the king himself, however, he was taken prisoner on the night of October 30, 1383. The cardinals intervened and an agreement was reached. Urban VI left Aversa and took refuge in Nocera, from where he continued with a half hostile, half dependent attitude towards Carlos, and where he created fourteen cardinals, all Neapolitans. The college of cardinals that was in favor of Urban VI, would soon ally with the king, to find a way to depose the pope or at least arrest him. Urban VI found out about the plot and imprisoned six of them and confiscated their property and those who did not confess were tortured. The King and Queen of Naples were excommunicated.
The king's response was not long in coming, Nocera was besieged by his armies, but Urban VI defended the place. After almost five months the siege of Nocera was broken by the urbanites and the pope escaped to Barletta, from where a Genoese fleet took him and the imprisoned cardinals to Genoa. The cardinals were executed on charges of treason. Through the mediation of England, only Cardinal Adam Aston was saved. Added to the tyrannical acts of the pope was his cruelty, which caused several of his cardinals to switch allegiance to the French antipope, Clement VII.
Crusade against Clement VII and death
Urban VI proclaimed a crusade against Clement VII in August 1387, he himself went to Perugia, where he remained until August 1388, with the intention of recruiting soldiers to liberate Naples that had fallen into the hands of the followers of the antipope. However, due to lack of resources, the troops deserted and Urban VI returned to Rome. That same year he proclaimed a jubilee for 1390.
It is said that on his return to Perugia, Urban VI fell from his mule causing serious injuries, although he recovered, it seems that he died from his injuries on October 15, 1389. Some do not rule out poisoning. He was entombed in St. Peter's Basilica.
Urban VI in literature
Some claim that the so-called prophecies of Saint Malachy refer to this pope as De inferno prægnante (pregnant with hell), a quote that would refer to his last name and the fact that his birthplace was a neighborhood of Naples called Inferno.