This Tertiary pope of the 13th century, a friend of St. Bonaventure, was a true son of St. Francis, known for his love for the holy places in Palestine and his efforts to promote peace. Born Theobald Visconti in Piacenza in 1210, he distinguished himself through his virtue and academic success, particularly in canon law, studying in Italy, Paris, and Liege.
In Paris, where he engaged with intellectual circles for over twenty years, his closest friends were the Franciscans, particularly St. Bonaventure. After becoming archdeacon of Liege, Pope Clement IV tasked him with preaching the Crusades, but he ended up on a peace mission to England instead.
After the death of King Louis IX in 1270, Theobald quickly travelled east to comfort the king’s son and the other Crusaders, fulfilling his devotion with a visit.
On September 1, 1271, a committee of six cardinals elected Theobald, surprising everyone, as he was still in the Holy Land. St. Bonaventure, called from Paris to help nominate a candidate, had suggested the sixty-year-old Archdeacon of Liege.
Returning to Rome, Theobald was first ordained a priest, then consecrated a bishop; and on March 27, 1272, he was crowned Pope Gregory X.
Blessed Gregory X was pope for just three years and nine months, yet he achieved much as a peacemaker. He often called on the Franciscans to help resolve conflicts, such as the one between Bologna and Venice.
Blessed Gregory X convoked the Fourteenth General Council, the Second of Lyons, which met for two months from May to July 1274, attended by five hundred bishops. The previous year, he made St. Bonaventure a Cardinal, urging him to accept the red hat “in humility of spirit” to be by his side during the Council.
On the way to France, the Pope was joined by St Bonaventure; and together they reached Lyons six months before the opening of the Council. St Bonaventure died July 15, two days before the final session.
As public affairs demanded more of his attention, Gregory X increasingly pursued personal holiness. He maintained a simple diet and spoke sparingly, dedicating ample time to prayer while fulfilling his duties with a spirit of prayer and union with God.
Blessed Gregory X died in Arezzo on January 10, 1276. Pope Benedict XIV added him to the Roman martyrology.
Feast day – January 10
https://www.roman-catholic-saints.com/blessed-gregory-x.html
Image attribution: RickMorais, CC BY-SA 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0, via Wikimedia Commons