URBAN V. (Guillaume Grimoard or Grimaud de Beauvoir), pope from Oct. 28, 1362, to Dec. 19, 137o, was born in 1309 near Lozere in Languedoc, and entered the Benedictine priory of Chiriac. He held many preferments, and was returning from a mission as papal legate to Italy, when he heard that he had been chosen to succeed Innocent VI. He was consecrated at Avignon Nov. 6, 1362. Urban witnessed the completion of the work of tranquillizing Italy under the able Cardinal Albornoz, and in 1364, in the interests of peace, made heavy concessions to Bernabo Visconti. Moved by Peter of Lusignan, king of Cyprus, and by the celebrated Carmelite Peter Thomas, who had come to Avignon in February 1363, the pope proclaimed another crusade, which found some echo in France and resulted in the temporary occupa tion of Alexandria (1365). Urban, yielding to the entreaties of the Emperor Charles IV. and of Petrarch, left Avignon on April 3o, 1367, despite the opposition of the French cardinals, and made his entry into Rome on Oct. 16. The following year he was
visited by Charles IV., and crowned the Empress Elizabeth (Nov. I), and in 1369 he received the Greek emperor, John Palaeologus. Urban sanctioned the order of Jesuates and founded the medical school at Montpellier. He at length announced his intention of returning to France, avowedly to settle trouble be tween France and England. He arrived at Avignon on Sept. 137o, died on Dec. 19. Urban was serious and humble, opposed to all nepotism, simony and secular pomp. He was himself of blameless morality and reformed many abuses in the curia. He was honoured as a saint immediately after his death, and beatified by Pius IX. in 187o. Urban's successor was Gregory XI.
See H. J. Tomaseth, "Die Register u. Secretare Urbans V. u. Gregors XI." in Mitteilungen des Instituts fiir eisterreichische Geschichtsforsch ung (1898).