Sede Vacante 1378
Canon of Toledo (extract)
:
Titulus of Santa Cecilia in Trastevere
Stephanus Baluzius [Étienne Baluze], Vitae Paparum Avinionensium Volume 1 (Paris: apud Franciscum Muguet 1693) column 1073:
quod die dominica sequenti post mortem Gregorii, cum esset iste testis in Sancta Caecilia in Missa Cardinalis Glandatensis [Bertrandus Atgerius], finita Missa, accesserunt ad dictum Cardinalem extra Ecclesiam in currali, ut sibi videtur, quasi trecenti Romani vel plures Transtyberini, ut dicebatur, de parrochia sancta Caecilia, et unus nomine omnium dixit: Pater noster, salvet te Deus. Nobis dictum est quod sanctissimus Papa Gregorius obiit. Rogamus te sicut tui filioli quod tu et alii Cardinales velitis eligere Papam Romanum vel Italicum. Et non nominamus tibi istum vel illum, sed sit Romanus vel Italicus: quia civitas ista viduata fuit Papa a LXVIII annis, et a quot annis citra non recordatur. Et respondit Cardinalis Glandatensis quod non bene faciebant rogare quod eligerent Romanum vel Italicum, sed debebant rogare Deum quod Cardinales eligerent talem personam qui esset ad servitium Dei et Sanctae Ecclesiae, sive esset Gallicus, vel Hispanus, aut undecunque. Et sibi replicavit ille qui loquebatur pro eis, et dixit quod si nolebant eligere Romanum vel Italicum, non debebat vocari curia Romana, sed Avinionensis, vel unde sibi placeret. Respondit Cardinalis quod Papa Romanus erat totius mundi et mundus cedebat sibi pro diocesi, et poterat morari ubi vellet, et propter hoc non desinebat esse Papa Romanus. Nam ipse fuit Episcopum Glandatensis, et morabatur extra civitatem in sua diocesi pro majori parte anni, et propter hoc non desinebat se vocari Episcopum Glandatensem. Et fuerunt multa alia inter eos. Et illi qui loquebatur pro aliis dixit, "Dicam tibi veritatem. Francia suxit Roman et Italiam a tempore mortis Bonifacii Papa. Et nos volumus modo sugere Franciam. Et in hoc Cardinalis ascendit cameram suam, et alii recesserunt.
Didacus Martini deposes that:
"...on the Sunday following the death of Pope Gregory [March 28], when the witness was in the Church of Santa Cecilia for the Mass of the Cardinal of Glandèves, when Mass was finished they approached the Cardinal outside the Church in the atrium, he saw about 300 Transtiburtine Romans or more from the Parish of Santa Cecilia. One of them, their spokesman, said, 'Father, God preserve you! We have been told that the Holy Father Pope Gregory has died. We ask you as your sons that you and the other Cardinals be pleased to elect a Roman or Italian pope. We are not telling you this person or that person, but let him be a Roman or an Italian, because this city has been bereft of a pope for sixty-eight years, and for how many years beyond is not recorded. The Cardinal of Glandèves replied that he was not doing a good thing to ask that they elect a Roman or an Italian, but that they ought to beg God that the Cardinals elect such a person as would be at the service of God and the Holy Church, whether he be a Frenchman, a Spaniard or from anywhere else. And the spokesman replied to him that if thaty did not wish to elect a Roman or an Italian, it ought not to be called the 'Roman Curia', but the "Avignon Curia', or of wherever else you please. The Cardinal replied that the Pope of Rome was pope of the whole world, and the world was his diocese, and he was able to stay where he wished. Because of this he did not cease to be the Pope of Rome. He himself was Bishop of Glandèves, and he resided outside the city in his diocese for the greater part of the year. He did not cease to be called the Bishop of Glandèves on account of that. And there were many other exchanges between them, and he who was speaking for the others said, "I will tell you the truth. France has gorged itself on Rome and Italy from the time of the death of Pope Boniface [VIII, 1303]. We just want to gorge on France." At that, the Cardinal went up to his apartment, and the others departed.
Noël Valois, "L' élection d'Urbain VI. et les origines du Grand Schisme d'Occident," Revue des questions historiques 48 (1890) 358-359.
