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This year's aerogramme commemorates the 600th anniversary of the election of Pope Martin V at the Council of Constance. This council (1414-1418) ended the Schism of the Western Church which followed the (temporary) end of the Avignonese papacy 1387-1414. By 1414 Western Christendom was divided among three popes, each claiming authority (Rome, Avignon, Pisa). The Council met at Constance (Konstanz) on the border between Switzerland and Germany. The three popes either resigned or were deposed. In 1417, Martin V (Oddone Colonna) was chosen as pope (ruled 1417-1431). The election ended the Western Schism. Martin V set about to reorganize and reform government in the papal states. Reformers at Constance urged a series of future councils to assist in governing the Church, but interest dissipated over the next half century. 
The aerogramme image is a 15th century painting of Pope Martin V from the Galleria Colonna in Rome. The Pope's coat of arms is pictured on the €2,30 stamp.

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