Innocent V

In 1272, Pope Gregory X appointed him Archbishop of Lyon and Primate of the Gauls. In this capacity, he became fully involved in the preparation of the Second Council of Lyon. In 1273, Gregory X elevated him to the cardinalate by naming him Cardinal-Bishop of Ostia and Velletri, while entrusting him with the office of Grand Penitentiary. During the Council of Lyon in 1274, he played a leading role alongside Saint Bonaventure in working toward the reconciliation and ephemeral union between the Latin Church and the Greek Church of the East. It was also he who delivered the funeral oration for Saint Bonaventure, who died during the conciliar sessions. After the death of Gregory X, the cardinals gathered in conclave at Arezzo in January 1276, applying for the first time the rigorous rules of the constitution Ubi periculum. On January 21, 1276, Peter of Tarentaise was elected pope unanimously on the first ballot. He chose the name Innocent V, thus becoming the very first pope from the Order of Preachers. Although his pontificate lasted only five months and one day, Innocent V deployed intense diplomatic and pastoral activity: pacification of Italy by working to appease the conflicts between Guelphs and Ghibellines, union of the Churches by sending legates to Constantinople, a Crusade project through his bull Fundamentum aliud, and political firmness toward Rudolph of Habsburg.

From the moment of his passing, Peter of Tarentaise left behind a profound reputation for holiness, gentleness, and personal poverty. His contemporaries praised the purity of his life, his charity toward the poor, and his constant fidelity to the spirit of detachment of his original order. He was interred in the Basilica of Saint John Lateran in Rome. Unfortunately, his monumental tomb was destroyed by the two devastating fires that ravaged the basilica in the 14th century (in 1308 and 1361), after which the charred remains of several popes were gathered and reinterred in a polyandrum. Despite the loss of his relics, popular devotion toward him never faded, particularly in Savoy and within the Dominican family.

The immemorial cult rendered to Innocent V was officially confirmed by Pope Leo XIII on March 14, 1898, thus raising him to the rank of blessed (some sources mention March 9, 1898, for the decree or the beatification ceremony). His liturgical memorial is fixed for June 22, the day of his birth into heaven. However, in certain dioceses, notably that of Paris (where he studied and taught for a long time) and in the dioceses of Savoy, his feast is celebrated locally on June 23. The cause for his canonization was officially opened on May 25, 1943.

Innocent V embodies the ideal of 13th-century Dominican spirituality, harmoniously combining intellectual contemplation and pastoral action. A great scholastic theologian, he left behind a major body of written work, including the famous Commentary on the Sentences of Peter Lombard (written between 1257 and 1259), commentaries on the Epistles of Saint Paul, as well as several philosophical treatises (such as De unitate formae, De materia caeli, and De aeternitate mundi). His legacy is that of an artisan of peace and unity. His life bears witness to a constant desire to heal the divisions of the Church, whether they were the political rifts between Italian cities or the painful schism between East and West. Although his pontificate was one of the shortest in history, his personal holiness and intellectual contribution have left a lasting mark on the history of the papacy and the Order of Preachers.