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Urban V
pope of the Catholic Church from 1362 to 1370
Feast: 19 December (not on the universal Roman calendar; kept in the Roman Martyrology or local calendars)
Who they were
Guillaume de Grimoard became a Benedictine at St Victor's, Marseilles, and wore its habit even as pope. One of the greatest canonists of his day, he was Abbot of St Germain d'Auxerre and served the Holy See on missions in Italy.
Elected pope in 1362, he worked for peace in Europe, approved the Brigittines and canonised his godfather St Elzéar. He died at Avignon on 19 December 1370; miracles multiplied at his tomb.
The miracles
His canonisation was promised by Gregory XI in 1375 but did not take place because of the troubles of the time; the honour paid to him was approved by Pius IX in 1870.
Why that counted as sanctity
A Benedictine pope who worked for peace.
Connected on this site
- Antonio Pavoni Blessed“He served as an inquisitor-general for Pope Urban V in combatting Waldensians in the Lombard region, but the Waldensians succeeded in killing him in an ambush as he preached an Eastertide homily in 1374.” — Wikipedia
- Delphine of Glandèves Blessed“The long-standing honour paid to her as Blessed was confirmed by Pope Urban V.” — this site's research
- Catholic Encyclopedia (1913), via New Advent - Pope Blessed Urban V
- Wikidata Q133046 — dates, feast day and identifiers (CC0)
- English Wikipedia — Pope Urban V (CC BY-SA)
Checked against the sources listed on 21 September 2026. Corrections welcome.