What is “the Avignon Papacy” (1309–1377)?

The story behind the answer

From 1309 to 1377 the papal court relocated to the Provençal city of Avignon on the Rhône, beginning with Clement V, due to turmoil in Rome and pressure from Philip IV of France. Seven successive popes administered the Church from there, building the imposing Palais des Papes. Though not legally subject to the French crown, their proximity to France led many to view them as overly influenced, prompting critics like Petrarch to dub it the "Babylonian Captivity" of the Church.

The return to Rome in 1377 by Gregory XI set the stage for the Western Schism (1378–1417), when rival claimants in Rome and Avignon split Christendom. The episode reshaped papal bureaucracy and finances and highlighted the entanglement of spiritual authority with European power politics.