Who he was
Oddone Colonna studied at Perugia, served Urban VI and Boniface IX, and was made a cardinal in 1402. He was elected unanimously at the Council of Constance on St Martin's Day, 11 November 1417, and as he was then only a subdeacon he was ordained deacon, priest and bishop in the following days. He was the first pope from the great Colonna family. He reached a ruined and half-empty Rome in 1420 and spent his reign restoring the city and the Papal States, with much help from his relatives.
What he is remembered for
His election ended the Great Western Schism, and he made concordats with the nations and brought the papacy back to Rome for good. He began the rebuilding of the city with artists from Tuscany, laying the foundations of Renaissance Rome, and he firmly upheld papal authority over councils.
Sources
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