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Why did Pope Nicholas V proclaim a Jubilee Year in 1450?

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Montúfar, Antonio: Saint Francis of Assisi Appearing Before Pope Nicholas V, with Donors — Nicholas V *Saint Francis of Assisi Appearing Before Pope Nicholas V, with Donors*, oil on canvas by Antonio Montúfar, 1628; in the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. 107.95 × 87.63 cm.

Pope Nicholas V proclaimed the 1450 Jubilee Year as a measure intended to stimulate piety among the faithful and to restore the reputation of the papacy.1

While the project successfully drew vast numbers of pilgrims to Rome, the event was unfortunately marred by an outbreak of the plague and a tragic panic-crush on the Ponte Sant’Angelo that resulted in 172 deaths.1