Innocent VII

Pope Innocent VII (; ; 1339 – 6 November 1406), born Cosimo de' Migliorati, was head of the Catholic Church from 17 October 1404 to his death, in November 1406. He was pope during the period of the Western Schism (1378–1417), and was opposed by the Avignon claimant Benedict XIII. Despite good intentions, he did little to end the schism, owing to the troubled state of affairs in Rome, and his distrust of the sincerity of Benedict XIII, and King Ladislaus of Naples.

Early life Cosimo de' Migliorati was born to a noble family of Sulmona in the Abruzzi, son of Gentile Migliorati and wife Mascia Oderisi and uncle of cardinal Giovanni Migliorati. He distinguished himself by his learning in both civil and Canon Law, which he taught for a time at Perugia and Padua. His teacher Giovanni da Legnano sponsored him at Rome, where Pope Urban VI (1378–89) took him into the Curia, sent him for ten years as papal collector to England, made him Bishop of Bologna in 1386 at a time of strife in that city, and Archbishop of Ravenna in 1387.

Pope Boniface IX made him cardinal-priest of Santa Croce in Gerusalemme (1389) and sent him as legate to Lombardy and Tuscany in 1390. When Boniface IX died, there were present in Rome delegates from the rival pope at Avignon, Benedict XIII. The Roman cardinals asked these delegates whether their master would abdicate if the cardinals refrained from holding an election. When they were bluntly told that Benedict XIII would never abdicate (indeed he never did), the cardinals proceeded to an election. First, however, they each undertook a solemn oath to leave nothing undone, and, if need be, lay down the tiara to end the schism.

Papacy

Migliorati was unanimously chosen – by nine cardinals – on 17 October 1404 and took the name of Innocent VII. There was a general riot by the Ghibelline party in Rome when news of his election got out, but peace was maintained by the aid of King Ladislaus of Naples, who hastened to Rome with a band of soldiers to assist the Pope in suppressing the insurrection. For his services the king extorted various concessions from Innocent VII, among them the promise that Ladislaus' claim to Naples would not be compromised, Innocent further named him the rector of Todi in April 1405.