Editing Pope Benedict XIII

{{Short description|Head of the Catholic Church from 1724 to 1730}}
{{Distinguish|Antipope Benedict XIII}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2020}}
{{Infobox Christian leader
 | type              = Pope
 | honorific-prefix  = [[List of popes|Pope]] [[Servant of God]]
 | honorific_suffix =
 | name              = Benedict XIII
 | title             = [[Bishop of Rome]]
 | image             = Benedetto XIII.jpg
 | caption           = 
 | birth_name        = Pietro Francesco Orsini
 | church            = [[Catholic Church]]
 | term_start        = 29 May 1724
 | term_end          = 21 February 1730
 | predecessor       = [[Innocent XIII]]
 | successor         = [[Clement XII]]
 | ordination        = 24 February 1671
 | ordained_by       = [[Clement X]]
 | consecration      = 3 February 1675
 | consecrated_by    = [[Paluzzo Paluzzi Altieri Degli Albertoni]]
 | cardinal          = 22 February 1672
 | created_cardinal_by = Clement X
 | birth_date        = {{birth date|1649|2|2|df=y}}<ref>[[Wikisource:Catholic Encyclopedia (1913)/Pope Benedict XIII]]</ref>
 | birth_place       = [[Gravina in Puglia]], [[Kingdom of Naples]]
 | death_date        = {{death date and age|1730|2|21|1649|2|2|df=y}}
 | death_place       = [[Rome]], [[Papal States]]
 | coat_of_arms      = C o a Benedictus XIII.svg
 | previous_post     = {{Indented plainlist|
* [[San Sisto Vecchio|Cardinal-Priest of San Sisto]] (1672–1701)
* [[Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Manfredonia-Vieste-S. Giovanni Rotondo|Bishop of Manfredonia]] (1675–1680)
* [[Roman Catholic Diocese of Cesena-Sarsina|Bishop of Cesena]] (1680–1686)
* [[Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Benevento|Archbishop of Benevento]] (1686–1730)
* Apostolic Administrator of Benevento (1686–1730)
* [[Roman Catholic Suburbicarian Diocese of Frascati|Cardinal-Bishop of Frascati]] (1701–1715)
* [[Roman Catholic Suburbicarian Diocese of Porto-Santa Rufina|Cardinal-Bishop of Porto e Santa Rufina]] (1715–1724)
* Vice-Dean of the College of Cardinals (1715–1724)
}}
 | other             = Benedict
<!---------- Sainthood ---------->
 | feast_day         = 
 | venerated         = 
 | saint_title       = 
 | beatified_date    = 
 | beatified_place   = 
 | beatified_by      = 
 | canonized_date    = 
 | canonized_place   = 
 | canonized_by      = 
 | attributes        = 
 | patronage         = 
 | shrine            = 
 | suppressed_date   = 
 | module            = {{Ordination|embed=yes
| ordained deacon by = 
| date of diaconal ordination = 
| place of diaconal ordination = 
| ordained priest by   = Clement X
| date of priestly ordination = 24 February 1671
| place of priestly ordination =
| consecrated by       = [[Paluzzo Paluzzi Altieri degli Albertoni|Paluzzo Card. Paluzzi]] ([[Cardinal-Nephew|Card. Nep.]])
| co-consecrators      = [[Stefano Brancaccio]] ([[Roman Catholic Diocese of Viterbo|Vit. & Tusc.]]) and [[Costanzo Zani]] ([[Roman Catholic Diocese of Imola|Imola]])
| date of consecration = 3 February 1675
| place of consecration = 
| elevated by          = Clement X
| date of elevation    = 22 February 1672
| bishop 1             = [[Tiberio Muscettola]]
| consecration date 1  = 19 May 1680
| bishop 2             = [[Domenico Diez de Aux]]
| consecration date 2  = 13 November 1689
| bishop 3             = [[Fabrizio Cianci]]
| consecration date 3  = 30 November 1689
| bishop 4             = [[Marcello Cavalieri]]
| consecration date 4  = 15 January 1690
| bishop 5             = {{ill|nobold=1|v=ib|Giuseppe Rosa|it}}
 | consecration date 5  = 22 January 1690
 | sources           = 
 | bishop 6          = [[Giuseppe Ponzi]]
 | consecration date 6  = 22 January 1690
 | bishop 7          = [[Pietro Vecchia (bishop)|Pietro Vecchia]]
 | consecration date 7  = 12 March 1690
 | bishop 8          = [[Benedict XIV]]
 | consecration date 8  = 16 July 1724
}}
}}
'''Pope Benedict XIII''' ({{langx|la|Benedictus XIII}}; {{langx|it|Benedetto 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]] and ruler of the [[Papal States]] from 29 May 1724 to his death in February 1730.<ref>Pope Benedict X is now considered an [[antipope]]. At the time, however, this status was not recognized; therefore, the man whom the Catholic Church officially considers to be the tenth true Pope Benedict took the official number XI, rather than X. This has advanced the numbering of all subsequent Popes Benedict by one. Popes Benedict XI–XVI are, from an official point of view, the tenth through fifteenth popes by that name.</ref>

A [[Order of Preachers|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]].

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]].

==Early life==
He was born in [[Gravina in Puglia]], the eldest of six sons of Ferdinando III Orsini, 8th [[Counts and dukes of Gravina|Duke of Gravina]]. A member of the [[Orsini family|Orsini]] of Rome, he was the third and last member of that family to become Pope after [[Pope Celestine III]] and [[Pope Nicholas III]]. At the age of eighteen he resigned his inheritance and entered the [[Dominican Order]] where he received the name of "Vincenzo Maria". He was ordained to the priesthood in February 1671.<ref name=op>{{Cite web |url=http://www.op.org/en/content/inquiry-process-canonisation-dominican-pope-benedict-xiii |title="Inquiry for the Process of Canonisation of the Dominican Pope Benedict XIII", Order of Preachers, February 24, 2017 |access-date=23 June 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170812165421/http://www.op.org/en/content/inquiry-process-canonisation-dominican-pope-benedict-xiii |archive-date=12 August 2017 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

Through the influence of his family, he was named, by [[Pope Clement X]], Cardinal-Priest of [[San Sisto Vecchio|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 [[1688 Sannio earthquake|earthquake in 1688]] and another in 1702, he organized relief efforts for the victims.<ref name=op/> He remained a close friend of a local mystic, [[Serafina of God]].

==Rise to the papacy==
{{Main|1724 papal conclave}}
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]] and there were no clear candidates. At the conclave, Orsini was considered one of the [[Papabile|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.<ref name=Kunst>{{Cite web |url=http://www.papalartifacts.com/portfolio-item/pope-benedict-xiii/ |title=Kunst, Richard. "Pope Benedict XIII", Papal Artifacts |access-date=23 June 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170612041035/http://www.papalartifacts.com/portfolio-item/pope-benedict-xiii/ |archive-date=12 June 2017 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

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.<ref name=op/> He chose the regnal name of "Benedict XIII" in honour of [[Pope Benedict XI]] because he was also of the [[Dominican Order]].

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==
{{Infobox popestyles
|image      = C o a Benedictus XIII.svg
|dipstyle   = [[His Holiness]]
|offstyle   = Your Holiness
|relstyle   = Holy Father
|deathstyle = [[Servant of God]]
|}}

===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 [[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.

===Beatifications and canonizations===
[[File:Benedict XIII on horseback.jpg|thumb|180px|Benedict XIII travelling on horseback, painting by [[Agostino Masucci]]]]
Upon election, on 4 June 1724, Benedict XIII published the Bulls of Canonization for Saints previously celebrated:<ref>''[https://archive.org/details/BR-Tomo-22]'', Bullarium Romanum. Vol 22. Benedict XIII (1724-1730). Taurini Ed, 1871. Respective Bulls on pages 1-44.</ref>

# [[Isidore the Laborer|Isidore the Farmer]] ([[Pope Gregory XV|Gregory XV]] - 12 March 1621)
# [[Andrew Corsini]], Carmelite ([[Pope Urban VIII|Urban VIII]] - 22 April 1629)
# [[Philip Benizi de Damiani|Philip Benizi]], Servites ([[Pope Clement X|Clement X]] - 12 April 1671)
# [[Francis Borgia]], Jesuit ([[Pope Clement X|Clement X]] - 12 April 1671)
# [[Lawrence Justinian|Lawrence Giustiniani]] ([[Pope Alexander VIII|Alexander VIII]] - 16 October 1690)
# [[John of Capistrano]] ([[Pope Alexander VIII|Alexander VIII]] - 16 October 1690)
# [[Catherine of Bologna]], Poor Clare Nun ([[Pope Clement XI|Clement XI]] - 22 May 1712)
# [[Felix of Cantalice]], Capuchin ([[Pope Clement XI|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]] on 24 May 1728. He conferred sainthood upon 
#[[Agnes of Montepulciano]] in 1726, 
#[[Aloysius Gonzaga]] and
#[[Stanislaus Kostka]]<ref>{{cite book|author=J. Jauh|title= Leto svetnikov IV ''Stanislav Kostka, vzornik mladine''|pages=306–310}}</ref> on 31 December 1726, 
#brothers [[Boris and Gleb|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.
[[File:PopebenedictXIII.jpg|thumb|left|140px|Mosaic of Benedict XIII in the Basilica of St. Paul outside the Walls]]

====Doctor of the Church====
The Pope declared [[Peter Chrysologus]] a [[Doctor of the Church]] on 19 February 1729.

===Other activities===
{{main|Cardinals created by Benedict XIII}}
Benedict XIII elevated 29 new cardinals into the cardinalate in a total of 12 [[Papal consistory|consistories]]; one such new cardinal was Prospero Lambertini, who later became [[Pope Benedict XIV]].

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.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://mysite.verizon.net/res7gdmc/aposccs/ |title=Apostolic Succession in the Roman Catholic Church |first=Charles |last=Bransom |work=mysite.verizon.net |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140924082501/http://mysite.verizon.net/res7gdmc/aposccs/ |archive-date=24 September 2014 }} Archived: 24 September 2014.</ref>

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.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.liberius.net/articles/Les_colleges_ecclesiastiques_de_Rome.pdf |title=Les colleges ecclesiastiques de Rome |website=www.liberius.net |access-date=26 May 2014}}</ref>

==Death and burial==
{{multiple image
| align             = right
| direction         = horizontal
| total_width       = 350
| image1            = Monument to Pope Benedict XIII.jpg
| caption1          = Tomb in Santa Maria sopra Minerva in Rome
| image2            = Benedict XIII plaque, Spanish Steps.JPG
| caption2          = Benedict XIII plaque at the [[Spanish Steps]]
}}
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]] 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 [[excommunication|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 papal conclave|1730]] and [[1740 papal conclave|1740]].

[[Pope Benedict XIV]] 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"{{snd}}"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]]:
:"This tomb encloses
:the bones of a little friar:
:more than a saint's lover
:a protector of brigands"

==Cause of beatification==
{{Infobox saint
|honorific_prefix = [[Servant of God]]
|name             = Benedict XIII
|birth_name       = Pietro Francesco Orsini
|birth_date       = 2 February 1649
|death_date       = 21 February 1730 (aged 81)
|feast_day        = 
|venerated_in     = 
|image            = Giuseppe Bazzani – Ritratto di papa Benedetto XIII.jpg
|caption          = Portrait by [[Giuseppe Bazzani]], {{circa|1725}}<!-- <br />([[Palazzo D'Arco, Mantua|Palazzo D'Arco]] in [[Mantua]]) -->
|birth_place      = [[Gravina in Puglia]], [[Kingdom of Naples]]
|death_place      = [[Apostolic Palace]], [[Rome]], [[Papal States]]
|titles           = [[Pope]]; [[Confessor]]
|attributes       = [[Papal vestments|Papal attire]]<br />[[Papal tiara]]<br />[[Religious habit|Dominican habit]]
|patronage        = [[Gravina in Puglia]]<br />[[Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Benevento|Archdiocese of Benevento]]
}}
[[File:Statue of Pope Benedictus XIII - San Domenico - Palermo - Italy 2015.jpg|thumb|left|120px|Statue of Pope Benedict XIII in [[Palermo]]]]
The process for his beatification was opened in [[Tortona]] in 1755 under [[Pope Benedict XIV]] but it did not at all advance and so was stalled. On 21 February 1931, also in Tortona, the process was revitalized<ref name="index">{{cite book |title=Index ac status causarum beatificationis servorum dei et canonizationis beatorum |date=January 1953 |publisher=Typis polyglottis vaticanis |page=33 |language=Latin}}</ref> 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 [[Rome]] 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.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.farodiroma.it/2017/02/22/papa-orsini-verso-gli-altari-chiusa-le-fase-diocesana-della-causa-benedetto-xiii/|title=Papa Orsini verso gli altari. Chiusa la fase diocesana della causa di Benedetto XIII|date=22 February 2017|publisher=Faro di Roma|access-date=23 February 2017}}{{dead link|date=March 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> He now has the posthumous title of [[Servant of God]].

The current [[postulator]] of the cause is the Dominican priest Francesco Maria Ricci.<ref>{{cite web |title=ORSINI, O.P., Vincenzo Maria |url=http://www2.fiu.edu/~mirandas/bios1672.htm |access-date=22 January 2014 |archive-date=18 January 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120118190419/http://www2.fiu.edu/~mirandas/bios1672.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref>

==See also==
*[[Orsini family]]
*[[Cardinals created by Benedict XIII]]
*[[List of popes]]

==References==
* {{Cite CE1913|wstitle=Pope Benedict XIII}}
*{{cite book |first=Claudio |last=Rendina |title=I papi. Storia e segreti |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mJBgVwZT34sC |language=it |publisher=Newton Compton |location=Rome |year=1993|isbn=9788854132603 }}
* {{ws|"[[s: Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani (1966)/Benedetto XIII, papa]]" in the 1966 ''Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani''}}
* [[iarchive:BR-Tomo-22|Bullarium Romanum. Tomus XXII: Benedictus XIII (ab an 1724–1730). Ed. Taurinensis, 1871.]]

==Footnotes==
{{commons category|Benedictus XIII}}
{{Reflist}}
{{s-start}}
{{s-rel|ca}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Innocent XIII]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Pope]]|years=29 May 1724 – 21 February 1730}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Clement XII]]}}
{{s-end}}

{{Dominican Order}}
{{Popes}}
{{Authority control}}

{{Portalbar|Biography|Catholicism|Christianity|History|Italy}}

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