For Renaissance popes the achievement of peace and concord was among the heaviest responsibilities of their leadership of Christendom. Peace meant Europe without war, without dissension between states, and without the threat of Turkish invasion. Concord was related in that it implied harmony of relations, but this was to flow from the unity of the flock of Christ under its one Shepherd. It thus required the extirpation of heresy and the universal acknowledgement of the supremacy of papal authority.

Already we have seen how the Consilium and subsequent reform proposals of the spirituali and their colleagues were hamstrung by their undermining of pathways to honour and by an attachment to tradition which prevented incremental innovative initiatives. A third weakness of the reform proposals was the failure to take into account pressing political realities that impinged on the pope. His sense of obligation in the face of those realities issued, once again, from social and theological expectations embedded in the culture that surrounded him.

Pax et Concordia in Council and Curial Orations

John O’Malley says: ‘It is impossible to exaggerate how often the Pax et Concordia formula recurs in the sermons and orations at the court’. There were multiple spurs to the orators for such frequent reference to peace and concord. Above all, peace was central to the story and message of Jesus and was considered to be part of his lasting legacy to the Church.