Pope Martin V & the End of the Western Schism

Portrait of Pope Martin V, Galleria Colonna

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On November 11th 1417, Cardinal Oddone Colonna was elected pope at the Council of Constance, taking the name Martin V. The pope's choice of name was influenced by the fact that November 11th is the Feast Day of St Martin. 

The election of Pope Martin V brought to an end the Western Schism, a split within the Catholic Church, which started in 1378 when bishops in Rome and Avignon both claimed to be the true pope. In 1409, a bishop in Pisa made the same claim, thereby creating three 'popes'!  

In 1414, the Council of Constance was convened by the Pisan pope John XXIII to resolve the schism. The council secured the resignation of Gregory XII and the detention and removal of John XXIII. The Avignon anti-pope Benedict XIII, who refused to step down, was excommunicated on 27 July 1417, having lost all his supporters in the process. The Council elected Pope Martin V, essentially ending the schism.

Pope Martin V (r. 1417-31) is interred in San Giovanni in Laterano.  

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