Pope Benedict XIII (; ; 2 February 1649 – 21 February 1730), born Pietro Francesco (or Pierfrancesco) Orsini and later called Vincenzo Maria Orsini, was head of the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

and ruler of the

Papal States The Papal States ( ; ; ), officially the State of the Church, were a conglomeration of territories on the Italian peninsula under the direct sovereign rule of the pope from 756 to 1870. They were among the major states of Italy from the 8th c ...

from 29 May 1724 to his death in February 1730. A Dominican friar, Orsini focused on his religious responsibilities as bishop rather than on papal administration. Orsini's lack of political expertise led him to increasingly rely on an unscrupulous secretary (Cardinal Niccolò Coscia) whose financial abuses ruined the papal treasury, causing great damage to the Church in

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

. In the process towards sainthood, his cause for canonization opened in 1755, but it was closed shortly afterwards. It was reopened on 21 February 1931, but it was closed once again in 1940. It was opened once more on 17 January 2004, with the official process commencing in 2012 and concluding later in 2017. He now has the posthumous title of

Servant of God Servant of God () is a title used in the Catholic Church to indicate that an individual is on the first step toward possible canonization as a saint. Terminology The expression ''Servant of God'' appears nine times in the Bible, the first five in ...

Early life

He was born in Gravina in Puglia, the eldest of six sons of Ferdinando III Orsini, 8th Duke of Gravina. A member of the Orsini of Rome, he was the third and last member of that family to become Pope after Pope Celestine III and

Pope Nicholas III Pope Nicholas III (; Wiktionary:circa, c. 1225 – 22 August 1280), born Giovanni Gaetano Orsini, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 25 November 1277 to his death on 22 August 1280. He was a Roman nobleman who h ...

. At the age of eighteen he resigned his inheritance and entered the

Dominican Order The Order of Preachers (, abbreviated OP), commonly known as the Dominican Order, is a Catholic Church, Catholic mendicant order of pontifical right that was founded in France by a Castilians, Castilian priest named Saint Dominic, Dominic de Gu ...

where he received the name of "Vincenzo Maria". He was ordained to the priesthood in February 1671. Through the influence of his family, he was named, by Pope Clement X, Cardinal-Priest of San Sisto on 22 February 1672 (allegedly against his will). He also lectured in philosophy at Brescia. Later he was bishop of Manfredonia, bishop of Cesena and then archbishop of Benevento. After an earthquake in 1688 and another in 1702, he organized relief efforts for the victims. He remained a close friend of a local mystic, Serafina of God.

Rise to the papacy

Upon the death of Pope Innocent XIII in 1724, a conclave was convoked to elect a successor. There were four divisions in the

College of Cardinals The College of Cardinals (), also called the Sacred College of Cardinals, is the body of all cardinals of the Catholic Church. there are cardinals, of whom are eligible to vote in a conclave to elect a new pope. Appointed by the pope, ...

and there were no clear candidates. At the conclave, Orsini was considered one of the papabili. Orsini was then proposed to be elected because he led a modest, austere life, and was considered to be a pastor. His lack of political expertise suggested that he would be neutral and malleable. Orsini refused to be elected prior to the final ballot, explaining that he was unworthy of it. Eventually he was persuaded to accept by Agustín Pipia, Master of the Order of Preachers and on 29 May 1724, Orsini was elected pontiff. He chose the regnal name of "Benedict XIII" in honour of

Pope Benedict XI Pope Benedict XI (; 1240 – 7 July 1304), born Nicola Boccasini (Niccolò of Treviso), was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 22 October 1303 to his death on 7 July 1304. Boccasini entered the Order of Preachers i ...

because he was also of the

. On 4 June 1724, he was crowned by Benedetto Pamphili, the cardinal protodeacon. On the following 24 September, he took possession of the Basilica of St. John Lateran.

Pontificate

Actions

Not a man of worldly matters, Benedict XIII made an effort to maintain his monastic lifestyle. He endeavoured to put a stop to the decadent lifestyles of the Italian priesthood and of the cardinalate. He also abolished the

lottery A lottery (or lotto) is a form of gambling that involves the drawing of numbers at random for a prize. Some governments outlaw lotteries, while others endorse it to the extent of organizing a national or state lottery. It is common to find som ...

in Rome and the Papal States, which only served to profit the neighboring states that maintained the public lottery. A man fond above all of asceticism and religious celebrations, he built several hospitals, but according to Cardinal Prospero Lambertini (later

Pope Benedict XIV Pope Benedict XIV (; ; 31 March 1675 – 3 May 1758), born Prospero Lorenzo Lambertini, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 17 August 1740 to his death in May 1758. Pope Benedict X (1058–1059) is now con ...

), "did not have any idea about how to rule". In 1727, he inaugurated the famous Spanish Steps and founded the University of Camerino. In 1728, Benedict's intervention settled a controversy regarding the relics of

Augustine of Hippo Augustine of Hippo ( , ; ; 13 November 354 – 28 August 430) was a theologian and philosopher of Berber origin and the bishop of Hippo Regius in Numidia, Roman North Africa. His writings deeply influenced the development of Western philosop ...

which erupted in

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 ...

. He ultimately confirmed the authenticity of Augustine's bones, which had been discovered in 1695 in the Basilica San Pietro in Ciel d'Oro. The government of the Papal States was effectively held in Benedict XIII's stead by Cardinal Niccolò Coscia, who had been the pope's secretary when he was archbishop of Benevento, and who committed a long series of financial abuses to his own advantage, causing the ruin of the Papal treasury. Coscia and his associates effectively isolated Benedict from other advisors. According to

Montesquieu Charles Louis de Secondat, baron de La Brède et de Montesquieu (18 January 168910 February 1755), generally referred to as simply Montesquieu, was a French judge, man of letters, historian, and political philosopher. He is the principal so ...

, "All the money of Rome goes to Benevento... as the Beneventani direct enedict'sweakness". In foreign relations, he struggled with both

John V of Portugal ''Dom (title), Dom'' John V (; 22 October 1689 – 31 July 1750), known as the Magnanimous (''o Magnânimo'') and the Portuguese Sun King (''o Rei-Sol Português''), was King of Portugal from 9 December 1706 until his death in 1750. His reig ...

and the Jansenists in France.

Beatifications and canonizations

Upon election, on 4 June 1724, Benedict XIII published the Bulls of Canonization for Saints previously celebrated: # Isidore the Farmer ( Gregory XV - 12 March 1621) # Andrew Corsini, Carmelite (

Urban VIII Pope Urban VIII (; ; baptised 5 April 1568 – 29 July 1644), born Maffeo Vincenzo Barberini, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 6 August 1623 to his death, in July 1644. As pope, he expanded the papal terri ...

- 22 April 1629) #

Philip Benizi Philip Benizi (sometimes Saint Philip Benitius, and in Italian Filippo Benizzi) (August 15, 1233 – August 22, 1285) was a general superior of the Order of the Servites, and credited with reviving the order. Biography Philip Benizi was born on ...

, Servites ( Clement X - 12 April 1671) # Francis Borgia, Jesuit ( Clement X - 12 April 1671) # Lawrence Giustiniani ( Alexander VIII - 16 October 1690) # John of Capistrano ( Alexander VIII - 16 October 1690) # Catherine of Bologna, Poor Clare Nun ( Clement XI - 22 May 1712) # Felix of Cantalice, Capuchin ( Clement XI - 22 May 1712) Benedict XIII beatified # Bernardine of Feltre in 1728, # Peter Fourier on 20 January 1730, # Hyacintha of Mariscotti on 1 September 1726, # Fidelis of Sigmaringen on 24 March 1729, # Vincent de Paul on 13 August 1729, and # Juan de Prado on 24 May 1728. Through the process of equipollent canonization Benedict XIII canonized #

Pope Gregory VII Pope Gregory VII (; 1015 – 25 May 1085), born Hildebrand of Sovana (), was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 22 April 1073 to his death in 1085. He is venerated as a saint in the Catholic Church. One of the great ...

on 24 May 1728. He conferred sainthood upon # Agnes of Montepulciano in 1726, # Aloysius Gonzaga and #

Stanislaus Kostka Stanisław Kostka, S.J. (28 October 1550 – 15 August 1568) was a Polish novice in the Society of Jesus. He was born at Rostkowo, Przasnysz County, Poland, on 28 October 1550, and died in Rome during the night of 14–15 August 1568. He is sai ...

on 31 December 1726, #brothers Boris and Gleb of Kiev in 1724, # Francis Solano on 27 March 1726, # James of the Marches and Turibius of Mogroveio on 10 December 1726, # John of Nepomuk on 19 March 1729, # John of the Cross and Peregrine Laziosi on 27 December 1726, # Margaret of Cortona on 16 May 1728, and # Serapion of Algiers on 14 April 1728. PopebenedictXIII

Doctor of the Church

The Pope declared Peter Chrysologus a

Doctor of the Church Doctor of the Church (Latin: ''doctor'' "teacher"), also referred to as Doctor of the Universal Church (Latin: ''Doctor Ecclesiae Universalis''), is a title given by the Catholic Church to saints recognized as having made a significant contribut ...

on 19 February 1729.

Other activities

Benedict XIII elevated 29 new cardinals into the cardinalate in a total of 12 consistories; one such new cardinal was Prospero Lambertini, who later became

. Benedict XIII, whose orders were descended from Scipione Rebiba, personally consecrated at least 139 bishops for various important European sees, including German, French, English and New World bishops. These bishops in turn consecrated bishops for their respective countries, causing other episcopal lineages to die out. As a result, more than 90% of present-day bishops trace their episcopal lineage through him to Cardinal Rebiba. With the papal bull ''Pretiosus'', dated 26 May 1727, Benedict XIII granted to all Dominicans major houses of study and in particular to the Roman College of St. Thomas, the future Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas ''Angelicum'' the right of conferring academic degrees in theology to students outside the Order.

Death and burial

Benedict XIII was suddenly attacked by a catarrh, contracted while officiating at the funeral service of Cardinal Marco Antonio Ansidei, of which he died on 21 February 1730 at the age of 81. His death was made public to the people the next day. The pope was of middling size; his countenance was mild, his nose aquiline and he had a broad forehead. At the autopsy, it was discovered that his heart was remarkably large. His funeral ceremonies were performed at the Vatican, whence he was removed to the

Santa Maria sopra Minerva Santa Maria sopra Minerva is one of the major Church (building), churches of the Order of Preachers (also known as the Dominicans) in Rome, Italy. The church's name derives from the fact that the first Christian church structure on the site was b ...

where he was buried in a tomb completed by Pietro Bracci and others. After the 1730 papal conclave elevated Pope Clement XII to the pontificate, Clement promptly excommunicated Benedict XIII's corrupt deputy, Cardinal Coscia. Coscia fled Rome and his punishment, but was later restored and took part in the conclaves of 1730 and 1740.

would later say of Benedict XIII: "We respectfully love that pontiff who backed his carriage rather than dispute the passage with a cartman." On that occasion, Benedict XIII had exclaimed to his coachman: "Non ci far impicci""Do not involve us in a quarrel." On the other hand, this anonymous satirical comment on Benedict XIII's death was posted at the

Pasquino Pasquino or Pasquin (; Latin: ''Pasquinus, Pasquillus'') is the name used by Romans since the early modern period to describe a battered Hellenistic-style statue perhaps dating to the third century BC, which was unearthed in the Parione dist ...

: :"This tomb encloses :the bones of a little friar: :more than a saint's lover :a protector of brigands"

Cause of beatification

Statue of Pope Benedictus XIII - San Domenico - Palermo - Italy 2015

The process for his beatification was opened in

Tortona Tortona (; , ; ) is a ''comune'' of Piemonte, in the Province of Alessandria, Italy. Tortona is sited on the right bank of the Scrivia between the plain of Spinetta Marengo, Marengo and the foothills of the Ligurian Apennines. Its ''frazione'' of ...

in 1755 under

but it did not at all advance and so was stalled. On 21 February 1931, also in Tortona, the process was revitalized but the presumed doubts about the morality of the late pontiff's Cardinal Secretary of State, Niccolò Coscia, caused its closing in 1940. The process was reopened on 17 January 2004. The official diocesan process commenced in

in early 2012 and the official opening of that process was held in the Basilica of Saint John Lateran, presided by Agostino Vallini. The diocesan phase for the beatification process concluded on 24 February 2017 at the Basilica of Saint John Lateran with Vallini celebrating the conclusion of the inquest. He now has the posthumous title of

. The current postulator of the cause is the Dominican priest Francesco Maria Ricci.

References

* * * * Bullarium Romanum. Tomus XXII: Benedictus XIII (ab an 1724–1730). Ed. Taurinensis, 1871.

Footnotes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Benedict 13 1649 births 1730 deaths People from Gravina in Puglia Pope Benedict XIII Orsini family Popes 18th-century popes Italian popes Cardinal-bishops of Porto Archbishops of Benevento Bishops of Cesena Italian Servants of God Italian Dominicans Dominican popes Cardinal-nephews 17th-century Italian Roman Catholic priests 18th-century Italian Roman Catholic archbishops Papal Servants of God Dominican Servants of God Burials at Santa Maria sopra Minerva