Pope Urban V

About Pope Urban V

Pope Urban V (1310–1370) was a significant religious figure who achieved a Historical Popularity Index (HPI) rank of #993, reflecting his global cultural impact across history. A Benedictine monk, his most notable act was the controversial decision to briefly return the Papacy to Rome from Avignon in 1367, attempting to restore papal prestige in Italy after decades abroad. This move, though ultimately short-lived as he returned to France shortly before his death, marks him as a crucial player in the complex political and religious landscape of the 14th century.

Despite this historical importance, Pope Urban V exhibits a notable "Attention Gap" online. In 2025, his Wikipedia page accrued an annualized total of only 45K views, placing him severely under-attended by a factor of -7x when compared to his HPI ranking. For contrast, Francis Xavier, ranked just two places lower at #995, commanded over ten times the attention with 435K views in the same period. Furthermore, figures ranked significantly higher in importance, such as Khafra (#567), draw even fewer eyeballs online than the Pope, highlighting a significant digital disconnect from this medieval pontiff.

Encouragingly for the subject's digital footprint, Pope Urban V is showing increasing contemporary interest, evidenced by an 84.6% year-over-year increase in views and a 25% positive momentum shift between Q1 and Q3 of 2025, suggesting a recent surge in relevance or discovery.