Gregory VII

Pope from 1073 and Catholic saint. He was chief minister to several popes before his election to the papacy, and was one of the great ecclesiastical reformers. He aroused the imperial wrath by prohibiting the abuse of investiture, and was declared deposed by the Holy Roman Emperor Henry IV in 1076. His feast day is 25 May. He was canonized in 1606.

He claimed power to depose kings, denied lay rights to make clerical appointments, and attempted to suppress simony (the buying and selling of church preferments) and to enforce clerical celibacy, making enemies of both rulers and the church.