Hildebrand elected as Pope Gregory VII

April 22, 1073

The Tuscan reformer monk who had shaped papal policy for two decades was raised to the papal throne by popular acclamation in Rome. As Gregory VII, he would challenge Henry IV over the right to appoint bishops and launch the Investiture Controversy that tore Christendom apart for fifty years. His vision of papal supremacy over all earthly rulers was the most radical political claim of the medieval age.