This day, as Pope Gregory XI entered Rome in 1377, officially marks an end to the Avignon Papacy (1308-1377), a period known as the “Babylonian Captivity of the Church.” For most of the 1300’s, the Popes were French. In 1308 Clement V (Bertrand de Got) moved his residence to France (seen above) after some trouble with Rome’s powerful Colonna family. One of the problems he and his successors faced was a loss of credibility; they were seen as puppets of... Read more