Page "Pope Gregory XII" Paragraph 1

Gregory was chosen at Rome in 1406 by a conclave consisting of only fifteen cardinals under the express condition that, should Antipope Benedict XIII ( 1394 – 1423 ), the rival papal claimant at Avignon, renounce all claim to the Papacy, he would also renounce his, so that a fresh election might be made and the Western Schism ( 1378 – 1417 ) could be ended.