Pope St. Gregory VII (+1085)
St. Gregory is one of the greatest of Catholic popes. His story reads as an exciting adventure for young boys; yet even the most stoic adult can not remained unmoved by his saintly witness. We most definitely need his spirit and intercession in these troubled times. Let us pray to him today as we consider great events of his life.
THE REFORMING MONK FROM CLUNY
Hildebrand of Sovana was born in Tuscany, educated in Rome, and then went to France to join the famous monastery at Cluny. In the century prior to his birth, Cluny had served as a great reforming monastery. in the 800s much of Europe's monastic life had fallen into disrepute. There were grave problems in the Church and in the papacy. Cluny was founded in France in the 910th Year of our Lord as an effort to counter ecclesiastical evils and opulence. The monks of Cluny were very effective in initiating a world wide reform of the Church. This great Benedictine monastery laid its emphasis on the holy Liturgy and adherence to the Rule of St. Benedict. Their reform culminated in four monks from Cluny being elevated to the papacy, who greatly helped reform the Church universally: St. Gregory VII, Bl. Urban II, Paschal II, and Bl. Urban V.
[Some historians argue that the Church has undergone three major reforms, all led by great saints. This reform of Cluny was the first in the 10th century, then came that of the mendicant religious led by St. Francis and St. Dominic in the 13th century, and finally the great Tridentine reform of the 16th century spearedheaded by so many saints we can't list them all, but a few of the best known include St. Pius V, St. Ignatius of Loyola, St. Teresa of Avila, St. Charles Borromeo, Sr. Robert Bellarmine, and st. Peter Canisius. The fourth great reform is the one we so desperately need today to help recover and restore our True Catholic Faith and Tradition. At present, we may not know who shall be raised by Divine Providence, but we can be certain they will be great bishop, priests and religious saints!]
As a monk, Hildebrand became well known for his zeal, sanctity, learning, and preaching. Thus, the holy Pope St. Leo IX called him to Italy and made him abbot of St. Paul's Monastery. At the time, like many other monasteries, it was in ruins and powerful laymen controlled the monastery's resources and interests. Gregory recovered its lands and restored the monastery to its ancient splendor. He was so effective in the reforming endeavors he undertook, that a string of consecutive popes relied heavily on him for accomplishing the most difficult tasks.
THE GRAVE SIN OF SIMONY
In 1054, Hildebrand sent by Pope Victor II to France as his legate to abolish the practice of simony (the grave sin of selling ecclesiastical offices). In those days, the Church had grown so diseased because many priests, canons, abbots, and even bishops (!) had no desire or intent to follow Christ on the royal path of Calvary, but merely sought the temporal benefits that came with positions in the Church. These abuse was so extreme that positions of authority and easy income were sold and purchased. In the feudal system, those who worked the land rarely owned it. Instead they had to pay a certain percentage of their crops or income to the owner of the land. While land was owned by dukes, barons, and kings, much land was also owned by monasteries and bishoprics. Thus, abbots and bishops could receive a great deal of income (called a "benefice") without working the land. This aroused great envy in worldly men and made these positions extremely covetous. One can readily imagine how those buying and selling these offices were not interested in the life of sanctification, but rather their worldly disposition would lead them to many other sins of the flesh and of pride. How pious and saintly could a man possibly be if he was so base as to willingly acquire a church position in order to engage in easy living? (Although the details and circumstances have changed, we see the Church today plagued by churchmen with very similar worldly dispositions.)
Hildebrand battled against this evil all his life, and with even greater zeal once he assumed the office of Supreme Pontiff, and he the one individual most credited for ending the sacrilegious practice of simony within the Church. Obeying Pope Victor II, Gregory traveled to France and called for a synod at Lyons where one notoriously bad bishop was accused of simony. The bishop vehemently proclaimed his innocence and Gregory merely asked him to pray the Glory Be. The guilty bishop was unable to say the words "Holy Ghost" (reminiscent of St. Peter with Ananias and Sapphira, cf. Acts 5:1-11). At this miraculous proof of his guilt, the bishop converted and humbly confessed his crime.
Later, the Pope sent Gregory (still as his legate) to oversee the Council at Tours (1055 AD) in which the Berengarius retracted his condemned heresies regarding the most Holy Eucharist. Berengarious directed the theological school of St. Martin of Tours and was widely known for his great knowledge and learning. Theological controversy regarding the Holy Eucharist had surfaced earlier, primarily between two monks named Radbert and Ratramnus. Berengarius entered this debate as well, positing in his position that the Holy Eucharist was not the true, Real Presence of our Lord. Gregory and the Council prevailed upon him to retreat his heresy and sign a confessional statement accepting that the Holy Eucharist is the Real Body and Blood of Jesus Christ. Fortunately this man, unlike Martin Luther, was humble and obedient enough to retract his heretical errors.
SUPREME PONTIFF AND VICAR OF CHRIST
In 1073, under great compulsion and after many protests, Hildebrand exalted to the papacy and took the name Gregory VII. Yet he had done everything in his power to ward off that heavy burden. For example, he wrote to Henry IV, the Holy Roman Emperor, asking him to exercise his legitimate power to block his election. At that time, the Holy Roman Emperor had the right to "veto" the election of the Pontiff. (This power was not abolished until the 20th century by Pope St. Pius X, after it was exercised one last time in 1903.) Henry IV was a very evil man. He was a power hungry tyrant. He waged many wars, oppressed many, and wanted to control the Church as well. He was deeply involved in abetting the practice of simony in the Germanic lands. Thus when Gregory VII wrote to him, as an added incentive, Gregory told the Emperor that if he were made pope, he would never tolerate the King's enormous and scandalous crimes. Thus, the monk felt assured that the emperor would prevent his taking the papal throne. Nevertheless, by a great miracle, Henry IV gave his assent to the monk's election! Moreover, Henry IV made a promise to convert and reform (This is the picture shown above of the Emperor kneeling in simple clothes before the pope.)
THE BATTLE FOR THE SOUL OF THE CHURCH
At this time, the Church remained in the serious crisis of simony, for it was rampant throughout the Church. With great apostolic zeal Gregory VII began to stem the terror that was breaking into the holy sanctuary itself. The Pope deposed the archbishop of Milan (a very important Bishopric in Italy) because Godfrey had acquired it via simony. He held a Council in Rome and declared that anyone who attained an ecclesiastical post through simony - it was null and void. Moreover, that man had no ecclesiastical jurisdiction and he was disqualified from receiving any benefice whatsoever!
This stirred up great opposition and anger. Many powerful men were in danger of losing their authority, money, prestige, etc. Battle lines were quickly drawn within the Church and a fierce war waged between those interested in the Kingdom of God and those wishing to live solely for this world. In Germany, the Archbishop of Mentz zealously campaigned for reform in obedience to the Pope. Plots in turn were made to assassinate him. In response, Gregory wrote to all the priests and bishops, stirring them to zealously put an end to this evil, even it meant laying down their life to uphold the laws of God and the Church. This powerful support offered by the Pope prevented the murder of the Archbishop of Mentz and rallied many more churchmen to the side of Truth and Goodness. The tide began to turn.
THE POPE IS KIDNAPPED
Pope Gregory was not only interested in reforming the Church, but also the State. There in Rome, he excommunicated Cencius, a rich and most powerful nobleman because of his scandalous lifestyle and heinous crimes. Various other powerful nobleman who were in cahoots with Cencius were likewise excommunicated by the pope. They retaliated. On Christmas Night (1075) these unrepentant sinners broke into the papal household and laid hands on the Holy Father. One attempted to strike off his head and gave him a deep wound. The mutineers then carried him off to Cencius' castle. Yet the following day the news spread wide throughout Rome. The local populace rallied together in the Pope's defense. With whatever arms they could find, including rocks, farm tools, and bare fists, they marched onto Cencius' castle, broke through and rescued the injured Pontiff. The people then banished the conspirators from Rome. They lost their land, money, homes, families, everything. Yet once the Pope regained his strength, he pardoned them and recalled them, ending their banishment. Through his mercy he overcame their malice and miraculously won their conversion.
EMPEROR HENRY IV ATTACKS THE CHURCH
Yet his greatest trial was yet to come. Henry IV (the Holy Roman Emperor) had only supposedly 'converted' and soon went back on his word and returned to his evil ways - with a vengeance. He began to crush all the princes in Germany and initiated numerous wars of conquest and oppressed the Church. Gregory VII had written him many tender letters of spiritual advice, encouragement, and support for his conversion, showing great concern for his salvation. Yet Henry IV ignored these wonderful treatises which clearly explained the true nature of Church-State relations (a lesson men have again forgotten in our times). Instead, Henry IV encouraged the practice of simony and used it to practically make himself the head of the Church in Germany. He also furthered the heretical and sacrilegious practice of "Investiture", which is the claim that the head of state, and not the pope, can name the bishop and even invest him with episcopal authority.
Thus began Henry IV's great war against the Church and Pope. It was probably the greatest attack on the Church by the State since the time of the Roman Empire, and surpassed only by the revolutionary wars of the Protestants and then the French Revolution and its aftermath.
Henry IV convened a "Council" of simonical bishops at Worms (1076) and they supposedly deposed Gregory VII. In turn, Gregory excommunicated the King and his adherents as schismatics and stated that for his tyranny he had forfeited his crown. Rudolf, a two-time brother-in-law of Henry IV declared himself king with the support of faithful princes and dukes and agreed to support the pope. Unfortunately Rudolf proved too weak in leadership and not strong enough in military might. He was no match for the blood-thirsty despot and Henry IV killed him in battle (1080). Subsequently, Henry IV set up Guibert, the excommunicated simonical Archbishop of Ravenna, as an antipope. Henry then marched his armies through Italy making straight for Gregory VII to ensure that Guibert would be the only one who could claim the throne of St. Peter. In 1084, Henry IV entered Rome with his armies and besieged St. Gregory in the Castle St. Angelo. He held a false synod in which he prevented the pope's supporters from attending and there it was decided that either Gregory would have to crown Henry or a new pope would be elected. Yet Gregory remained resolute in his refusal to compromise. Henry in turn formally elevated Guibert to the office of Papacy, Guibert took the name Clement III (anti-pope), and the Roman people abandoned their support of Gregory VII.
Things looked very bleak at this point: as if the Church herself had died, succumbed to a false pope, and the gates of hell were prevailing.
CHRIST IS KING OF CHURCH AND STATE
Fortunately, three devout and pious princesses named Agnes, Mathilda and Beatrice were the unlikely tools God used to deliver the Pope (reminiscent of the three women who accompanied our Blessed Mother on Calvary). These women prevailed upon their husbands to marshal their armies to rescue the Pope. Robert Guiscard, duke of Apulia, led the combined armies and Henry IV was forced to evacuate Rome in order to better prepare for war. Robert Guiscard freed the pope and whisked him away from the battle (further south) so he would be away from danger. it is reported that though all these trials St. Gregory remained in perfect peace and tranquility of soul. He prayed so deeply that he would enter a state of contemplation with raptures and ecstasies.
After being rescued from Henry IV by Duke Robert, the Pope was conducted safely to the monastery at Monte Cassino and then Salerno. It was there that having returned to the monastery, God was pleased to put an end to Gregory's many labors. Before passing away, Gregory wrote to all of Christendom, encouraging them to mount a crusade against the false emperor, Henry IV.
Pope Gregory VII passed away on 22 April 1085, after reigning for 12 years in one of the most tumultuous times of the Church. He unceasingly defended the Church's rights, fought against enemies within and without the Church, and spearheaded great reform. Many miracles were attributed to him in life and in death. Even one of his political enemies praised his zealous pursuit for the interests of the Church, his impeachable moral character, and his undaunted courage and perseverance. Gregory helped bring about an end to the horribly immoral practices of simony and investiture (although that problem continued to raise its ugly head in subsequent centuries). He defended the rights of God against any who challenged the social kingship of Christ. His letters and teaching are eloquently filled with profound spiritual teaching and advice. Thus, I think it easy for you to see why we desperately need this Pope as an intercessory saint for our times.
EPILOGUE
The next two popes, also monks from Cluny, Bl. Urban II and Paschal II continued the battle against Henry IV and Guibert. They reiterated the excommunication against him and the resisted the falsity of Clement III as anti-pope. Eventually after more coalitions, internal disputes and a rebellion by his son, Henry IV was defeated. In 1104 at Mainz he was forced to resign his crown and consent to having unjustly persecuted Gregory VII and illegally named Clement III as anti-pope. Nevertheless he had sufficient support in German lands to mount a successful "come-back". He escaped from jail made negotiations with England, Denmark and France and defeated his son's army in battle. Shortly thereafter, Henry IV succumbed to illness and died in 1106 at age 56. His friend Othbert, the simonicac bishop of Liège, had him buried with all pomp and honors. Yet by a direct command of Pope Paschal II he was unearthed, removed, and buried in an unconsecrated chapel. Clement III died of sickness in 1100. Pope Paschal II however 'damned the very memory of this enemy of Christ' and had his body exhumed and the rotting remains dumped into the Tiber River.