Pope Benedict XIII (Latin:Benedictus XIII;Italian:Benedetto XIII; 2 February 1649 – 21 February 1730), bornPietro Francesco (or Pierfrancesco) Orsini and later calledVincenzo Maria Orsini, was head of theCatholic Church and ruler of thePapal States from 29 May 1724 to his death in February 1730.[2]
ADominican 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 (CardinalNiccolò Coscia) whose financial abuses ruined the papal treasury, causing great damage to the Church inRome.
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 ofServant of God.
He was born inGravina in Puglia, the eldest of six sons of Ferdinando III Orsini, 8thDuke of Gravina. A member of theOrsini of Rome, he was the third and last member of that family to become Pope afterPope Celestine III andPope Nicholas III. At the age of eighteen he resigned his inheritance and entered theDominican Order where he received the name of "Vincenzo Maria". He was ordained to the priesthood in February 1671.[3]
Upon the death ofPope Innocent XIII in 1724, a conclave was convoked to elect a successor. There were four divisions in theCollege of Cardinals and there were no clear candidates. At the conclave, Orsini was considered one of thepapabili. 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.[4]
Orsini refused to be elected prior to the final ballot, explaining that he was unworthy of it. Eventually he was persuaded to accept byAgustín Pipia,Master of the Order of Preachers and on 29 May 1724, Orsini was elected pontiff.[3] He chose the regnal name of "Benedict XIII" in honour ofPope Benedict XI because he was also of theDominican Order.
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 theItalian priesthood and of thecardinalate. He also abolished thelottery 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 (laterPope Benedict XIV), "did not have any idea about how to rule".[5]
In 1728, Benedict's intervention settled a controversy regarding the relics ofAugustine of Hippo which erupted inPavia. He ultimately confirmed the authenticity of Augustine's bones, which had been discovered in 1695 in theBasilica San Pietro in Ciel d'Oro.[6]
The government of the Papal States was effectively held in Benedict XIII's stead by CardinalNiccolò 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.[4] According toMontesquieu, "All the money of Rome goes to Benevento... as the Beneventani direct [Benedict's] weakness".[7]
Benedict XIII elevated 29 new cardinals into the cardinalate in a total of 12consistories; one such new cardinal was Prospero Lambertini, who later becamePope Benedict XIV.
Benedict XIII, whose orders were descended fromScipione 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.[10]
With the papal bullPretiosus, 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 futurePontifical University of Saint Thomas AquinasAngelicum the right of conferring academic degrees in theology to students outside the Order.[11]
Benedict XIII was suddenly attacked by acatarrh, 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.[12] 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 theSanta Maria sopra Minerva where he was buried in a tomb completed byPietro Bracci and others.
After the1730 papal conclave elevatedPope Clement XII to the pontificate, Clement promptlyexcommunicated Benedict XIII's corrupt deputy, Cardinal Coscia. Coscia fled Rome and his punishment, but was later restored and took part in the conclaves of1730 and1740.
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" – "Do not involve us in a quarrel." On the other hand, this anonymous satirical comment on Benedict XIII's death was posted at thePasquino:
The process for his beatification was opened inTortona in 1755 underPope Benedict XIV but it did not at all advance and so was stalled. On 21 February 1931, also in Tortona, the process was revitalized[13] but the presumed doubts about the morality of the late pontiff'sCardinal Secretary of State,Niccolò Coscia, caused its closing in 1940.
The process was reopened on 17 January 2004. The official diocesan process commenced inRome in early 2012 and the official opening of that process was held in theBasilica of Saint John Lateran, presided byAgostino 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.[14] He now has the posthumous title ofServant of God.
The currentpostulator of the cause is the Dominican priest Francesco Maria Ricci.[15]
^Pope Benedict X is now considered anantipope. 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.
