Editing Pope Benedict XIII (section)

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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 [[Italy|Italian]] priesthood and of the [[Cardinal (Catholicism)|cardinalate]]. He also abolished the [[lottery]] 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]]), "did not have any idea about how to rule".<ref>Rendina, p. 590</ref>

In 1727, he inaugurated the famous [[Spanish Steps]]<ref name=Kunst/> and founded the [[University of Camerino]].

In 1728, Benedict's intervention settled a controversy regarding the relics of [[Augustine of Hippo]] which erupted in [[Pavia]]. He ultimately confirmed the authenticity of Augustine's bones, which had been discovered in 1695 in the [[Basilica San Pietro in Ciel d'Oro]].<ref>Stone, Harold Samuel (2002).  "Augustine's Bones: A Microhistory."  pp.&nbsp;90–93</ref>

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.<ref name=Kunst/> According to [[Montesquieu]], "All the money of Rome goes to Benevento... as the Beneventani direct [Benedict's] weakness".<ref>Rendina, p. 592</ref>

In foreign relations, he struggled with both [[John V of Portugal]] and the [[Jansenists]] in France.