Who he was
Gabriele Condulmer, of a wealthy Venetian family and a nephew of Gregory XII, gave a large inheritance to the poor and entered the Augustinian monastery of San Giorgio in Venice. He was briefly Bishop of Siena, was made a cardinal in 1408, and served Martin V well as legate. Elected on the first ballot in March 1431, he kept to a simple monastic routine as pope. His reign was stormy: a struggle with the Colonna, a long conflict with the Council of Basle, and a rising in 1434 that drove him to Florence for some years.
What he is remembered for
At the Council of Ferrara-Florence he received the Greek Church back into union by the Decree of Union of 1439, followed by the Armenians; the union did not last, but it greatly raised the standing of the papacy. While in Florence he consecrated the newly finished cathedral, and the long stay of his court there gave strong encouragement to the revival of learning.
Sources
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