Les Dominicains et la Papauté d’Avignon

Dominicans and the Papacy of Avignon. The Order of Friar Preachers was basically loyal to the Popes during their settlement in Avignon. The Master of the Sacred Palace -i.e. the official theologian- was provided by the Order, which was moreover honoured by the canonization of St Thomas Aquinas, had representatives in the Sacred College of Cardinals and was encouraged to continue its missionary action in Asia, then dominated by the Mongolians. The Order nevertheless avoided to vindicate John XXII’ s views on beatific vision and managed to go through the reform that Benedict XII wanted to impose. The Cardinals from the Order never played a prevailing role. Master Eckart’ s spiritual experiments were suspected or ignored, so were those of the German Mystics. The existence of the Order was not characterised by an active presence at the Curia.