Historically, the papacy was always located in the Vatican in Rome, however for a 68-year period in the 14th-Century it was centered in Avignon, France. A highly scandalous time in Church history, French monarchs had higher authority over the papacy than before and 111 out of the 134 cardinals were French. During this period there was also increased taxation of clergy and people illegally holding Church offices in order to earn higher income. Absentee pastors collected income while deputies did all the work and dioceses were left for generations without a bishop, due to the fact that these hierarchs were solely appointed for monetary gain. 

 Overall, this era produced many of the Church abuses that Martin Luther would later talk about in his Ninety-Five Theses since these problems were either created or got worse in Avignon. Despite the corruption, most of the seven Popes in office during the Avignon period were actually competent, but the bishops and cardinals gained massive power over the Popes and the Church as a whole. 

Pope Benedict XII (1334-1342) tried to reform the religious order and was careful about who he appointed. He also refused to wage war on behalf of Church territories, unlike how previous Popes had done. Although there were some good Popes, the papal office was still soured mainly because Popes like Clement VI (1342-1352) lived extremely luxurious, handsome and liberal lives and rewarded office seekers and appointed people to Church offices based on monetary gain. 

The Avignon papacy wasn’t the only crisis in Europe during the Fourteenth-Century, the others include harvest failures, the Hundred Years’ War, the Great Western Schism, the Black Death, and major social upheaval. The Great Western Schism was a period when there were two popes: one in Rome and one in Avignon, which caused all of Europe to be divided. 

However, the most famous and largest disaster was the Black Death, which killed 25-50% of Europe’s total population. It was especially deadly in urban areas, with most large living centers experiencing a death toll of 80-90%. Additionally, there were peasant uprisings across Europe, mainly in England, and from 1315-1317 crop failures and cattle disease are estimated to have killed 10-20% of Europe’s total population. 

Brought to Italy from Central Asia by boats that carried fleas on rats, the Black Death was a confluence of the bubonic and pneumonic plagues. 

Many people in Central Asia had built up a strong resistance to the plague, but not so in Europe. Because of the catastrophic numbers of death, people reacted in extreme ways, thinking God was punishing them for their sins. Some dedicated their lives to Christ, knowing they could die at any time, while others lived in debauchery for the short time they had left.