Home > Pope Gregory VII
Gregory VII, né Hildebrand (ca. 1020/ 1025- May 25, 1085), was elevated to the papacy in 1073, and remained pope until his death.One of the great reforming popes, Gregory is perhaps best known for the part he played in the Investiture Controversy, which pitted him against emperor Henry IV.
1 Early life
He was born in obscurity in Sovana , a small town of Tuscany where his house is still shown. He was sent to Rome at an early age for his education; an uncle of his being abbot of the convent of St Mary on the Aventine. His instructors appear to have included Pope Gregory VI. But when the emperor Henry III deposed Gregory VI and exiled him to Germany, Hildebrand went with him. As he himself afterwards admitted, he had no wish to cross the Alps. But his residence in Germany was of great educational value, and significant for his later official activity. In Cologne he was enabled to pursue his studies. He returned to Rome with Pope Leo IX. Under him, Hildebrand first began work in the ecclesiastical service, becoming a subdeacon and steward in the Roman Church. He acted as a legate in FranceThe French Republic or France ( French: Republique francaise or France is a country whose metropolitan territory is located in western Europe, and which is further made up of a collection of overseas islands and territories located in other continents., where he had to deal with the question of Berengar of ToursBerengar of Tours (died January 6, 1088) was an 11th century Christian theologian in France who disputed with the Church leadership over the doctrine of transubstantiation in the Eucharist. Early Life. Berengar of Tours was born perhaps at Tours, probably, whose views on the EucharistThe Eucharist is either the Christian sacrament of consecrated bread and wine or the ritual surrounding it. The term "Eucharist" is used mainly in Roman Catholic, Anglican, Eastern Orthodox and Lutheran traditions, and is based upon the Greek word &epsilo had caused controversy.
On the death of Leo IX he was sent by the Romans as their envoy to the German court, to conduct the negotiations with regard to his successor. The emperor pronounced in favour of Pope Victor IIVictor II ne Gebhard, Count of Calw, Tollenstein and Hirschnerg ca. 1018 Arezzo July 28, 1057), pope ( 1055- 1057), kinsman of Emperor Henry III One of the series of German popes during Hildebrand's reform movement, he was consecrated in St. Peter's in Ro who again employed Hildebrand as his legate to France. When Pope Stephen XStephen X ne Frederick of Lorraine (d. March 29, 1058), pope ( August 3, 1057 March 1058), succeeded Victor II (Gebhard of Eichstadt). His baptismal name was Frederick, and he was a younger brother of Godfrey, duke of Upper Lorraine, who, as marquis of Tu was elected, without previous consultation with the German court, Hildebrand and Bishop Anselm of Lucca were sent to Germany to secure a belated recognition, and he succeeded in gaining the consent of the empress Agnes de PoitouAgnes de Poitou or Empress Agnes ( 1020- 1077) was regent of the Holy Roman Empire from 1056 to 1068. She was born to William V, Duke of Aquitaine and Count of Poitou and his wife Agnes of Burgundy. Agnes was the second wife of Henry III, Holy Roman Emper. Stephen, however, died before his return, and, by the hasty elevation of Bishop Johannes of Velletri, the Roman aristocracy made a last attempt to recover their lost influence on the appointment to the papal throne: a proceeding which was dangerous to the Church as it implied a renewal of the disastrous patrician régime. That the crisis was overcome was essentially the work of Hildebrand. Against Pope Benedict X, the aristocratic nominee, he supported a rival pope in the person of Pope Nicholas IINicholas II ne Gerard of Burgundy (died either July 19 or July 27, 1061), pope from December 1058 to July 1061, was at the time of his election Bishop of Florence. He was set up by Hildebrand, with the support of the empress-regent Agnes of Poitou and of whose tenure was distinguished by events which exercised a strong influence on the policy of the Curia during the next two decades: the rapprochement with the Normans in the south of Italy, and the alliance with the democratic and, subsequently, anti-German movement of the Patarenes in the north.
It was also under this pontificate that the law was enacted which transferred the papal election to the College of Cardinals, thus withdrawing it from the nobility and people of Rome and diminishing German influence on the election. When Nicholas II died as was succeeded by Pope Alexander II, Hilebrand loomed larger and larger in the eye of his contemporaries as the soul of the Curial policy. The general political conditions, especially in Germany, were at that time very favourable to the Curia, but to use them with the wisdom actually shown was nevertheless a great achievement, and the position of Alexander at the end of his pontificate was a brilliant justification of the Hildebrandine statecraft.
