Wednesday, May 7, 2025

It is the 7th of May 2025. Welcome to the Christian History Almanac, brought to you by 1517 at 1517.org; I’m Dan van Voorhis.

It’s Pope season. That’s right- the conclave is beginning and even if you’re not a Roman Catholic (you might guess that here at 1517 we are on.. well, another team) it is a big season for the global church on earth as 1.4 billion Catholics are about to get there 267th (by their counting) Pope.

And today’s anniversary is the election of a Pope- Clement VI on this day in 1342 and this allows us to play a little bit of “Papal grab bag” and to console ourselves by remembering we don’t live in the 14th century (when things get bad or weird I often remind myself… it could be 1350 and then things would really stink!).

So- Clement VI- real name, er… birth name Pierre Roger, I’ll let you guess where he was born. That’s right- France. Not insignificant. Also, because when old Pierre became Clement VI on this day in 1342, he didn’t go to Rome, as from 1309 the Papacy had been moved to Avignon, France. It will move back to Rome, but then another Pope will be elected at Avignon, and we will have 2 Popes and then three before things get settled at Constance in the next century.

Real quick: he’s Clement VI- there will be 14 Pope Clements so far, making it the 4th most popular name for a Pope behind John (23) and Gregory and Benedict tied at 16.

Let’s head back to the 14th century- the worst century in Western history? Not only was there a schism, but the 100 Years War, Ottoman expansion, and the Byzantines dwindling, the Feudal system giving way to nation states, and the social upheaval that caused, and then, oh yeah, the Black Death! 

Clements dates as Pope- 1342-1352 put him right in the thick of the events surrounding the plague as it began in 1347, half way into his papacy.  

Prior to the outbreak of the Black Death, he was seen as something of a sophisticated, Cosmopolitan bon vivant. He had purchased the palace at Avignon from the Queen of Naples for 80,000 gold florins (roughly 15 million dollars today). He was known to spend lavishly to establish his power and persona, and according to Papal historian Eamon Duffy, he spent money with reckless abandon, and once declared that “my predecessors did not know how to be Popes”. Of course, the Black Death is going to change that to some extent, and Clement VI deserves credit for two things: staying in Avignon and helping to care for the over 60,000 who died in that city. He also protected Jewish people who were being accused of being behind the plague. Clement claimed that those who taught were being seduced by the Devil, and he threatened excommunication for any Christian who attacked a Jewish person over this claim.

Clement VI is also important for the history of the church and the papacy for his concession made to Rome early in his Papacy. There were calls for him to return the papacy to Rome- as a frenchmen he had no interest in this, but he attempted to placate his fellow Catholics by calling for a surprise jubilee year- the proviso had been in 1300 and was supposed to wait until 1400 but he called it for 1350.

And it was in this papal bull where he declared this new Jubilee- the Bull called “Unigenitus” from 1343 that he claimed the power to forgive through indulgences on account of the “treasury of the church” which is the inexhaustible merit of Christ, Mary and all the saints which the church can allocate for acts of penance, mercy, pilgrimages, etc…

This will become the doctrine over which Luther will run afoul of the papacy claiming that the true “treasure” is the Gospel which forgives completely and doesn’t need to be earned, purchased or anything else he believed would give false hope to people.

X That’s over 150 years later, though and Clement VI would die in 1352, there would be three more Popes in Avignon until 1378 when Gregory XI moved back to Rome (but then there’s a schism and that’s a story for another time). Today we remember that complicated Pope (aren’t they- and we, all) Clement VI, the Pope who had to Pope during the calamitous 14th century and the Black Death- elected Pope on this, the 7th of May in 1342.

The Last word for today comes from the daily lectionary and Luke 5 and the calling of the first disciples.

When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into deep water, and let down the nets for a catch.” Simon answered, “Master, we’ve worked hard all night and haven’t caught anything. But because you say so, I will let down the nets.” When they had done so, they caught such a large number of fish that their nets began to break. So they signaled their partners in the other boat to come and help them, and they came and filled both boats so full that they began to sink. When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at Jesus’ knees and said, “Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man!” For he and all his companions were astonished at the catch of fish they had taken, and so were James and John, the sons of Zebedee, Simon’s partners. Then Jesus said to Simon, “Don’t be afraid; from now on you will fish for people.” So they pulled their boats up on shore, left everything and followed him.

This has been the Christian History Almanac for the 7th of May 2025 brought to you by 1517 at 1517.org.

The show is produced by a man whose favorite Pope is Pope Lando… a big Star Wars fan. He is Christopher Gillespie.

The show is written and read by a man who gets a kick out of Pope Formosus (that means handsome) and Pope Hilarius (which is a funny name). I’m Dan van Voorhis.

You can catch us here every day- and remember that the rumors of grace, forgiveness, and the redemption of all things are true…. Everything is going to be ok.