Martin V (1368-1431) was pope from 1417 to 1431. He was elected by the Council of Constance, which thus terminated the Great Schism of the West.

The man who was to become Pope Martin V was born in Genazzano, Italy, on Feb. 20, 1368. His name was Oddone Colonna, and he was the only member of that illustrious Roman family ever to be elected to the throne of Peter. He was made a cardinal by Innocent VII in 1405 and three years later, at the height of the quarrel between the Avignonese and the Roman claimants to the papal chair, withdrew his obedience from Gregory XII. Thereupon, in 1409, he participated in the Council of Pisa, which had been convoked in a desperate effort to end the schism. He voted in the election of Alexander V in 1409 and of John XXIII in 1410, hoping in each case, as did all men of goodwill, that the...