Gregory XII
- Original name:
- Angelo Correr
- Born:
- c. 1325, Venice [Italy]
- Died:
- October 18, 1417, Recanati, Papal States
- Title / Office:
- pope (1406-1415)
Gregory XII (born c. 1325, Venice [Italy]—died October 18, 1417, Recanati, Papal States) was the pope, the leader of the Roman Catholic Church, from 1406 to 1415. He was the last of the Roman line during the Western Schism (1378–1417), when the papacy was contested by antipopes in Avignon (France) and in Pisa (Italy).
Angelo Correr was bishop of Castello in the Papal States (1380) and Latin Patriarch of Constantinople (1390) when made a cardinal (1405) by Pope Innocent VII, whom he succeeded on November 30, 1406. As Gregory XII, his pontificate was challenged by the Avignonese antipope Benedict XIII, with whom he was to have negotiated for their mutual abdication to end the schism. After the French declared neutrality (1408) in the dispute between Rome and Avignon, the Council of Pisa pronounced both the Roman and Avignonese popes deposed (June 1409). Gregory protested but resigned on July 4, 1415. He first, however, approved the Council of Constance (Germany), which denounced Benedict as a heretic and elected Pope Martin V. Gregory died as cardinal bishop of Porto, a title conferred on him by the council.
Gregory XII was the last pope to resign until the abdication of Benedict XVI in 2013.
