A sympathizer with the Franciscan Spirituals, he became Minister General of the Order of Friars Minor in 1289.
Despite Pope Nicholas IV having been the first Franciscan pope, it was not until his death in 1292 that Gaufredi felt able to relax the sanctions against the Spirituals, who had been persecuted for their strong condemnations of luxury in the church.
[1] Angelo da Clareno and some of his followers—including St Thomas of Tolentino—were released from confinement and sent as missionaries to Armenia in order to avoid persecution from the friars in the March of Ancona.
He nominated Pierre Jean Olivi for a teaching position at the University of Montpellier.
He was deposed as Minister General by Pope Boniface VIII, in 1295.