September 20

Born Robert of Geneva in 1342, Bob eventually settled into a career path which would in the fullness of time lead to his becoming Cardinal Robert of Geneva, called by some, rather arbitrarily it seems, either Bobby or the Butcher of Cesena. Bob devoted a great deal of energy to his clerical work and a bunch of upstart French Cardinals ultimately elected him, on the 20th in 1378, at Avignon, to the papacy. The dear boy assumed the name Pope Clement VII. He was never able to get clear title to the seat of St. Peter and wasn’t the first to use the Clement name, and he would not be the last to use it. Bob’s election in Avignon marked the beginning the Western schism, which was a rather unpleasant time for Roman Catholics and French people in general, and pretenders to the papacy in specific.