The Avignon Papacy was the period from 1309 to 1376 during which seven successive popes resided in Avignon (then in the Kingdom of Arles, part of the Holy Roman Empire, now in France) rather than in Rome.The situation arose from the conflict between the papacy and the French crown.

Following the strife between Philip IV of France and Pope Boniface VIII and the death of his successor Benedict XI after eight months in office, a deadlocked conclave elected Clement V, a Frenchman, as Pope in 1305. Clement declined to move to Rome, remaining in France, and in 1309, he moved his court to the papal enclave at Avignon, where it remained for the next 67 years. The absence from Rome is sometimes referred to as the "Babylonian Captivity of the Papacy". A total of seven popes reigned at Avignon; all were French, and they increasingly fell under the influence of the French Crown. On September 13, 1376, Gregory XI abandoned Avignon and moved his court to Rome (arriving on January 17, 1377), ending the Avignon Papacy.

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