Pierre Roger, Pope Clement VI

Pierre Roger (1291–1352), born at Maumont in the Limousin, entered the Benedictine abbey of La Chaise-Dieu as a boy and became a theology master in Paris in 1323. He rose from Abbot of Fécamp in 1326 to Archbishop of Sens in 1329 and Archbishop of Rouen in 1330, and was made a cardinal in 1338, serving Philip VI as councillor and diplomat.

Elected pope at Avignon in May 1342, he took the name Clement VI and deepened French dominance of the Church. He added a chapel to the Papal Palace and kept composers such as Philippe de Vitry about him.

In 1348, as the Black Death struck, he condemned the pogroms against the Jews and granted remission of sins to plague victims. He died on 6 December 1352, remembered as a munificent prince, but no saint, and was buried at La Chaise-Dieu.