:''Antipope Clement VIII should not be confused with

Pope Clement VIII Pope Clement VIII (; ; 24 February 1536 – 3 March 1605), born Ippolito Aldobrandini, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 30 January 1592 to his death in March 1605. Born in Fano, Papal States to a prominen ...

.'' Clement VIII, born Gil Sánchez Muñoz y Carbón (1369/70 – 28 December 1445/46), was one of the

antipope An antipope () is a person who claims to be Bishop of Rome and leader of the Roman Catholic Church in opposition to the officially elected pope. Between the 3rd and mid-15th centuries, antipopes were supported by factions within the Church its ...

s of the Avignon obedience, reigning from 10 June 1423 to 26 July 1429. When King

Alfonso V of Aragon Alfonso the Magnanimous (Alfons el Magnànim in Catalan language, Catalan) (139627 June 1458) was King of Aragon and King of Sicily (as Alfons V) and the ruler of the Crown of Aragon from 1416 and King of Naples (as Alfons I) from 1442 until his ...

reached an agreement with

Pope Martin V Pope Martin V (; ; January/February 1369 – 20 February 1431), born Oddone Colonna, was the head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 11 November 1417 to his death in February 1431. His election effectively ended the We ...

, Sánchez Muñoz abdicated, made his submission and was appointed bishop of Mallorca.

Biography

Gil Sánchez was born in

Teruel Teruel () is a city in Aragon, located in eastern Spain, and is also the capital of Teruel (province), Teruel Province. It had a population of 35,900 as of 2022, making it the least populated provincial capital in Spain. It is noted for its har ...

between 1369 and 1370. He was a friend and advisor of the future Avignon anti-pope Benedict XIII, and member of the Avignon curia. In 1396 he was an envoy to the Bishop of

Valencia Valencia ( , ), formally València (), is the capital of the Province of Valencia, province and Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Valencian Community, the same name in Spain. It is located on the banks of the Turia (r ...

to get Spanish support. Benedict had appointed four cardinals, and on his death, three of them, on 10 June 1423, elected Sánchez Muñoz as Pope. The fourth, Jean Carrier, absent at the time, declared the election invalid, and elected his own antipope in turn, who took the name Benedict XIV. Consequently, Jean Carrier was

excommunicate Excommunication is an institutional act of religious censure used to deprive, suspend, or limit membership in a religious community or to restrict certain rights within it, in particular those of being in communion with other members of the co ...

d by Clement VIII. Clement VIII's fate was bound up with the ambitions of

. Alfonso wished to negotiate for

Naples Naples ( ; ; ) is the Regions of Italy, regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 908,082 within the city's administrative limits as of 2025, while its Metropolitan City of N ...

, and so gave Clement support; his queen Maria of Castile, and the Aragonese bishops supported

Martin V Pope Martin V (; ; January/February 1369 – 20 February 1431), born Oddone Colonna, was the head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 11 November 1417 to his death in February 1431. His election effectively ended the West ...

. In the summer of 1423 Alfonso persuaded the

Republic of Siena The Republic of Siena (, ) was a historic state consisting of the city of Siena and its surrounding territory in Tuscany, Central Italy. It existed for over 400 years, from 1125 to 1555. During its existence, it gradually expanded throughout south ...

to acknowledge Clement VIII, thus securing recognition for the pope of the Avignon line in the very city,

Pavia Pavia ( , ; ; ; ; ) is a town and comune of south-western Lombardy, in Northern Italy, south of Milan on the lower Ticino (river), Ticino near its confluence with the Po (river), Po. It has a population of c. 73,086. The city was a major polit ...

, which was part of the Republic of Siena, where the Roman pope

had convened an ecumenical council of the Church. However, through the exertions of Cardinal Pierre de Foix, an able diplomat and relation of the King’s, an agreement was reached between Alfonso and the Pope. Alfonso then sent a delegation in 1428 (headed by Alfonso de Borgia, the future

Callixtus III Pope Callixtus III (, , ; 31 December 1378 – 6 August 1458), born Alonso de Borja (), was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 8 April 1455 to his death, in August 1458. Borgia spent his early career as a professor ...

), to persuade Clement to recognise Martin. Clement declared his abdication on 26 July 1429 and had his cardinals elect Oddone Colonna (Martin V) his successor, a formal act precluding future doubts concerning

apostolic succession Apostolic succession is the method whereby the Christian ministry, ministry of the Christian Church is considered by some Christian denominations to be derived from the Twelve Apostles, apostles by a continuous succession, which has usually been ...

. His abdication was confirmed in mid-August. Clement had to make a penitential submission ''in forma'' to Martin V, and when this was done Martin granted Sánchez Muñoz the Bishopric of Mallorca. Sánchez Muñoz died on 28 December 1445 or 1446.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Antipope Clement Viii Clement VIII Clement 08 Antipopes who abdicated 1369 births 15th-century antipopes People from Teruel