19 December - Pope Urban V was the 200th pope to head the Church from 1362 to 1370. On 10 March 1870, Pope Pius IX signed a decree for his beatification. He was born in 1310 at Grizac Castle. His real name was Guillaume de Grimoard.

Son of William II de Grimoard and Amphélise de Montferrand, after completing his studies in Montpellier and Toulouse, William de Grimoard entered the Benedictine monastery of Saint-Sauveur in Chirac, which was part of the Saint-Victor house in Marseille. He was characterised by a personal veneration for the Blessed Virgin Mary, respect for rules and a love of knowledge. After his ordination and graduation, he taught in Montpellier, Toulouse, Paris and Avignon. A few years later, when he was General Vicar of Clermont and Uzès, he directed the house of Saint-Germain in Auxerre, then Saint-Victor in Marseille. He was then sent by the Pope to represent him in Naples. On the death of the Pope, the cardinals elected him on 28 September 1362, and at that time he took the name Urban V, as he declared that all popes bearing this name were known for their holiness. Pope Urban V added the third crown to the tiara, not out of vanity, but to symbolise the three kingdoms over which the pope reigned: the People of God, the bishops and the Roman Empire. In Avignon, he was ordained bishop on 6 November of that year.

Pope Urban V was active in improving and reforming the life of the Church, spreading the faith and resolving conflicts. There was also the restoration of the relationship with the Greeks and the emphasis on the studies and restoration of the Holy See in Rome. His return to Rome was a triumph, but he only stayed there for three years and returned to Avignon and died there on 19 December 1370, pleading at the time of his death that Christians should be allowed to walk around his bed. He said: "So that the people can see how the pope dies". Urbain V, even as pope, never separated himself from monastic practices: fasting, holiness and the glory of God.