Return of the Seat of the Papacy to Rome

Funerary Monument to Pope Gregory XI

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On January 17th 1377, Pope Gregory XI returned the seat of the papacy to Rome from Avignon, where the popes had been residing since 1309.  Between 1309 and 1376, seven successive popes ruled from the southern French city; all seven were French in origin.  

Pope Gregory XI, who, perhaps unsurprisingly, was the last French pope, died on March 27th 1378. His funerary monument, the work of the Roman sculptor Pier Paolo Olivieri (1551-99), is in the church of Santa Francesca Romana. 

The bas-relief depicts St Catherine of Siena accompanying the returning pope. The saint was instrumental in persuading the pope to make his decision. 

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