Pope Innocent 7’s biggest mistake was to elevate his nephew to Cardinal
Christopher Francis – Vatican
Pope Urban VI was succeeded by Pope Boniface IX. When Piero Tomacelli, born Piero Tomacelli, was elected on November 2, 1389, only major parts of Germany, England, Hungary, Poland, and Italy accepted the spiritual leadership of the Roman Pontiff. On the other hand, Pope Clement VII from Avignon had Colucci as a rival pope. Pope Boniface IX was elected on November 2nd, 1389, while Antipope Clement VII crowned French Prince Louis of Anjou as King of Naples, Italy, on the 1st. But on 29 May 1390, Pope Boniface IX crowned Latislaus, son of Charles III, the de facto king of Naples, as king. Not only that, he was helping King Ladislaus for the next 10 years to drive the Avignon troops out of Naples.
His father, Boniface IX, repaired many bridges and buildings in the city of Rome. Although he provided a lot of facilities to the common people, he had to leave the city of Urom frequently and stay in various places like Perugia and Assisi due to the people rising up against him from time to time and the violence in the city of Urom. Meanwhile, on September 16, 1394, Antipope Clement VII, who had ruled from Avignon, died. 12 days later, on September 28, Cardinal Pedro de Luna was elected Antipope and took the name Benedict XIII. However, the Pope had the support of the kings of the major countries to be elected in accordance with the rules of law. Bridget of Sweden was canonized on October 7, 1391 by Pope Boniface IX. He founded the Universities of Ferrara (1391) and Fermo (1398) in Italy. Pope Boniface IX, who acted as a saint, died a pauper on October 1, 1404.
Pope Innocent 7
Pope Innocent VII was elected to the presbytery after Pope Boniface IX. He was born about 1336 to a modest family in Sulmona, Italy. Born Cosimo de’ Migliorati, who studied under the famous Italian jurist Lignano, the father of three worked as a professor of law in Perugia and Padua. Pope Urban VI sent him to England as his representative and worked there for 10 years. He was later appointed Bishop of Bologna in Italy in 1386 and Archbishop of Ravenna in 1387. Later Pope Innocent VII was elevated to the cardinalate by Pope Boniface IX in 1389. He was a well-educated and pious man who was elected Pope by the cardinals on October 17, 1404 and named the 7th Innocent.
During this period of Western Christian schism, while Antipope Benedict XIII was ruling in Avignon on one side, Pope Innocent VII had to start his work on the other side. As if the conflicts within the papacy were not enough, the Roman populace also rose up against the Pope’s administrative duties. Their argument was that the Pope should stop with spiritual work. King Latislaus of Naples had to rush in to quell these rebellions. King Ladislaus, who came and helped, issued some orders to the Pope. That is to say, the order was that this tribune should not come to any agreement with the anti-bishop, even if it did, it should not affect the powers of the King of Naples. As if this was not enough, the King of Naples wanted to expand his rule in the city of Urom. Meanwhile, Pope Innocent VII made a big mistake. He elevated his close relative, his nephew Ludovico Migliorati, to the cardinalate.
This appointment became a big stain in the life of Pope Innocent VII who had been a good Pope. Let’s see how? This relative, the new cardinal, who did not tolerate the Romans rising against the Pope, tried to capture the most important of the rebels and bring them to his house and kill them. Although this had nothing to do with the Pope, Pope Innocent VII had to flee for his life, fearing the wrath of the people. He stayed in Viterbo for some time. In 1406, Urom returned to the city as requested by the Romans. Although Pope Innocent VII wanted to bring about unity and eliminate the two bishoprics operating in Avignon and Rome, he was unable to implement it. Because the Pope did not have enough time to deal with the tensions in the city of Rome, the lack of faith in the Antipope Benedict XIII, and the hostility of the King of Naples Ladislaus. Pope Innocent VII died on November 6, 1406.