The Avignon Popes

As was said, in 1305 Clement V, being a Frenchman, was elected pope, and chose Avignon, a city surrounded on all sides by France, as his place of residence. Here, as was stated, the popes remained for seventy years. As this period so closely corresponds in its duration with the span of years of Judah's exile, it is known in history as the Babylonian captivity of the Papacy. It included the successive reigns of seven popes, all of whom were Frenchmen: Clement V, 1305-1314; John XXII, 1316-1334;...