View source for Antipope Benedict XIII

{{short description|Antipope from 1394 to 1423}}
{{distinguish|Pope Benedict XIII}}
{{family name hatnote|Martínez de Luna|Pérez de Gotor|lang=Spanish}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2020}}
{{Infobox Christian leader
| type             = antipope
| honorific-prefix = [[Antipope]]
| name             = Benedict XIII
| title            = Pope Luna
| image            = Portrait du Antipape Benoît XIII par Joan Reixach XV.jpg
| caption          = Portrait by [[Juan Rexach]]<br />(15th-century, [[Morella, Castellón|Morella]], Spain)
| elected          = 28 September 1394
| enthroned        = 11 October 1394
| quashed          = 12 March 1403
| ended            = 23 May 1423
| predecessor      = {{plainlist|
*''[[Roman Catholic Church|Roman]] claimant:''
*[[Pope Boniface IX|Boniface IX]]
*[[Pope Innocent VII|Innocent VII]]
*[[Pope Gregory XII|Gregory XII]]
*[[Martin V]]
*''[[Antipope|Antipapal]] (Avignonian) claimant:''
*[[Antipope Clement VII|Clement VII]]}}
| opposed          = ''Roman claimants:''{{plainlist|style=margin-bottom:0.5em|
*[[Pope Boniface IX|Boniface IX]]
*[[Pope Innocent VII|Innocent VII]]
*[[Pope Gregory XII|Gregory XII]]
*Martin V}}''[[Council of Pisa|Pisan]] claimants:'' {{plainlist|
*[[Antipope Alexander V|Alexander V]]
*[[Antipope John XXIII|John XXIII]]}}
| successor        = {{plainlist|
*''Roman claimant:''
*[[Martin V]]
*''Antipapal (Avignonian) claimant:''
*[[Antipope Clement VIII|Clement VIII]]}}
| other_post       = [[Santa Maria in Cosmedin|Cardinal-Deacon of Santa Maria in Cosmedin]]
| previous_post    = [[Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Avignon|Apostolic Administrator of Avignon]] (<!-- 28 September -->1394–1398)
<!----------Orders---------->| ordination = 3 October 1394
| ordained_by      = Jean de Neufchatel
| consecration     = 11 October 1394
| consecrated_by   = Jean de Neufchatel
| cardinal         = 20 December 1375
| created_cardinal_by = [[Pope Gregory XI]]
| rank             = Cardinal-Deacon
<!----------Personal details---------->| birth_name = Pedro Martínez de Luna y Pérez de Gotor
| birth_date       = {{birth date|df=yes|1328|11|25}}
| birth_place      = [[Illueca]], [[Crown of Aragon]]
| death_date       = {{death date and age|df=yes|1423|05|23|1328|11|25}}
| death_place      = [[Peníscola]], Kingdom of Valencia, Crown of Aragon
| buried           = Castillo Palacio del Papa Luna, Illueca (skull)
| occupation       = Professor
| profession       = [[Canon law (Catholic Church)|Canon law]]
| alma_mater       = [[University of Montpellier]]
| coat_of_arms     = C o a Benedictus XIII (antipapa).svg
<!----------Other---------->| other = Benedict
}}

'''Pedro Martínez de Luna y Pérez de Gotor''' (25 November 1328 – 23 May 1423), known as {{Langx|es|'''el Papa Luna'''|label=none}} or '''Pope Luna''', was an [[Aragon]]ese nobleman who was [[antipope]] with the regnal name '''Benedict XIII''' during the [[Western Schism]].

==Early life==
Pedro Martínez de Luna was born at [[Illueca]], [[Kingdom of Aragon]] (part of modern Spain), in 1328. He belonged to the de [[Luna (name)|Luna family]], who were part of the [[House of Barcelona|Aragonese nobility]]. He studied law at the [[University of Montpellier]], where he obtained his doctorate and later taught [[canon law (Catholic Church)|canon law]]. His knowledge of canon law, noble lineage, and austere way of life won him the approval of [[Pope Gregory XI]], who appointed de Luna to the position of [[Cardinal Deacon]] of [[Santa Maria in Cosmedin]] on 20 December 1375.<ref name=kirsch>[http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/09431c.htm Kirsch, Johann Peter. "Pedro de Luna." The Catholic Encyclopedia] Vol. 9. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1910. 2 January 2016</ref>

==Avignon election==
[[File:Antipope Benedict XIII.jpg|thumbnail|left|The [[consecration]] of Benedict XIII]]
In 1377, Pedro de Luna and the other [[cardinal (Catholicism)|cardinal]]s returned to [[Rome]] with Pope Gregory, who had been persuaded to leave his papal base at [[Avignon]].<ref>The pope was repeatedly urged by [[Catherine of Siena]]: McGinn, Bernard ''The Varieties of Vernacular Mysticism'', (Herder & Herder, 2012), p. 561. Other considerations were the repeated embassies sent by the Roman people, and the war of Florence against the cities of the Papal States.</ref> After Gregory's death on 27 March 1378, the people of Rome feared that the cardinals would elect a French [[pope]] and return the papacy to Avignon. Consequently, they rioted and laid siege to the cardinals, insisting on an Italian pope. The conclave duly elected Bartolomeo Prignano, [[Archbishop of Bari]], as [[Urban VI]] on 9 April, but the new pope proved to be intractably hostile to the cardinals. Some of them reconvened at [[Fondi]] in September 1378, declared the earlier election invalid and elected Robert of Geneva as their new pope, initiating the [[Western Schism]]. Robert assumed the name [[Antipope Clement VII|Clement VII]] and moved back to Avignon.<ref name=kirsch/>

Clement VII sent de Luna as legate to Spain for the Kingdoms of Castile, Aragon, Navarre, and Portugal, in order to win them over to the obedience of the Avignon pope. Owing to his powerful relations, his influence in the Province of Aragon was very great. In 1393, Clement VII appointed him legate to France, Brabant, Flanders, Scotland, England, and Ireland. As such he stayed principally in Paris, but he did not confine his activities to those countries that belonged to the Avignon obedience.<ref name=kirsch/> Following Clement's death on 16 September 1394, the cardinals met at Avignon. The conclave consisted of 11 French cardinals, eight Italians, four Spaniards, and one from [[County of Savoy|Savoy]], all proclaiming the ardent wish to reunite the church. The cardinals then elected Luna as the new pope, on the condition that he should labor to quell the schism, and should resign the papal dignity whenever the pope of Rome should do the same, or the college of cardinals demand it.

[[File:Grand schisme 1378-1417-es.svg|thumb|In {{Color|orange|■}} orange, the kingdoms subject to the Avignon papacy.]]<!-- Before substituting by a map in English, check that the borders are correct.-->
On the death of Urban VI in 1389, the Roman [[College of Cardinals]] had chosen [[Pope Boniface IX|Boniface IX]]; the election of Benedict therefore perpetuated the Western Schism.
At the start of his term of office, de Luna was recognised as pope by [[Kingdom of France|France]], [[Kingdom of Scotland|Scotland]], [[Kingdom of Sicily|Sicily]], [[Crown of Castile|Castile]], [[Crown of Aragon|Aragon]] and [[Kingdom of Navarre|Navarre]]. In 1396, Benedict sent [[Antipope Clement VIII|Sanchez Muñoz]], one of the most loyal members of the [[Diocese of Avignon|Avignon]] [[curia (Roman Catholic Church)|curia]], as an envoy to the [[Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Valencia in Spain|Bishop of Valencia]] to bolster support for the Avignon-based papacy in the Crown of Aragon.

==Avignon papacy==
[[File:Pliny, Letters, Vat. lat. 1777.jpg|thumb|14th-century illustration from a manuscript of [[Pliny the Younger|Pliny]]’s ''[[Epistulae (Pliny)|Epistulae]]'']]
In 1398, the Kingdom of France withdrew its recognition of the Avignon anti-popes.<ref>McBrien, Richard P., ''Lives of the Popes'', (HarperCollins, 1997), p. 250.</ref> Benedict was abandoned by 17 of his cardinals, with only five remaining faithful to him. Benedict's rationale for continuing the rivalry lay in the fact that he was the last living cardinal created by Gregory XI, the last undoubted pope. As the only unquestioned cardinal, Benedict argued, he was, by right and by canon law, the only qualified candidate left who could validly claim the papacy. Following the Council of Constance Benedict's logic was not widely accepted.

An army led by [[Geoffrey Boucicaut]], brother of [[Jean Boucicaut]], occupied Avignon and started a five-year siege of the [[Palais des Papes|Papal Palace]] which ended when Benedict managed to escape from Avignon on 12 March 1403. He sought shelter in the territory of [[Louis II of Anjou]]. Avignon immediately submitted again to him, and his cardinals likewise recognized him. Popular sentiment being again in his favor, he was recognized as the legitimate pope by France, Scotland, Castile and Sicily.

After the Roman [[Pope Innocent VII]] died in 1406, the newly elected Roman pope, [[Pope Gregory XII|Gregory XII]], started negotiations with Benedict, suggesting that they both resign so a new pope could be elected to reunite the Catholic Church. When these talks ended in stalemate in 1408, [[Charles VI of France]] declared that his kingdom was neutral to both papal contenders. Charles helped to organise the [[Council of Pisa]] in 1409. This council was supposed to arrange for both Gregory and Benedict to resign, so that a new universally recognised pope could be elected. To oppose this, Benedict convoked the [[Council of Perpignan]] but with little success. Since both Benedict and Gregory refused to abdicate, the only achievement in Pisa was that a third candidate to the [[Holy See]] was put forward: Peter Philarghi, who assumed the name [[Antipope Alexander V|Alexander V]].<ref name=Brusher>{{cite book|last=Brusher|first=Rev. Joseph Stanislaus|title=Popes through the Ages|edition=3rd|year=1980|orig-year=1959 Van Nostrand|publisher=Neff-Kane|isbn=978-0-89141-110-9|chapter-url=http://www.hyperhistory.com/online_n2/civil_n2/histscript5_n2/schism1.html|chapter=The Great Schism}}</ref>

===University of St Andrews===
[[File:University of St Andrews arms.svg|thumb|100px|The arms of St Andrews keep a crescent, [[canting arms]] of the Luna family ({{Langx|es|luna|lit=moon}}).]]
A group of [[Augustinians|Augustinian]] [[clergy]], driven from the [[University of Paris]] by the Schism and from the universities of [[University of Oxford|Oxford]] and [[Cambridge University|Cambridge]] by the [[Anglo-Scottish Wars]], formed a society of higher learning in [[St Andrews]], [[Fife]], [[Scotland]] in 1410. The [[Bishop of St Andrews]], [[Henry Wardlaw]], then successfully petitioned Benedict to grant the school university status by issuing a series of [[papal bull]]s, which followed on 28 August 1413.<ref name="Scotland1837">{{cite book|author=Great Britain. Commission for Visiting the Universities and Colleges of Scotland|title=University of St. Andrews|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iCwPAQAAMAAJ&pg=Pag173|year=1837|publisher=W. Clowes and Sons|pages=173–}}</ref>
Having lost the support of France and driven out from Avignon, Benedict by then had taken refuge in [[Perpignan]], on the Catalan border of the [[Crown of Aragon]], but Scotland was among the handful of supporters that remained loyal. Nowadays, the [[University of St Andrews]]'s coat of arms/emblem still incorporates that of Benedict.

[[File:Benedictus XIII 001.JPG|thumb|Statue of Benedict XIII in [[Peníscola]], Spain.]]

===''Etsi doctoribus gentium ''===
In part to bolster faltering support for his papacy, Benedict initiated the year-long [[Disputation of Tortosa]] in 1413, which became the most prominent Christian–Jewish [[disputation]] of the [[Middle Ages]].<ref name = "JVL">{{cite web
 |first       = Haim
 |last        = Beinart
 |title       = Tortosa, Disputation of
 |url         = https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/judaica/ejud_0002_0020_0_19966.html
 |publisher   = [[Jewish Virtual Library]]
 |year        = 2008
 |access-date = 21 June 2009
}}
</ref> Two years later Benedict issued the [[papal bull]] ''Etsi doctoribus gentium '' which was one of the most complete collections of anti-Jewish laws.<ref name = "JVL2">{{cite web
 |first       = Solomon
 |last        = Grayzel
 |title       = Bulls, Papal
 |url         = https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/judaica/ejud_0002_0004_0_03728.html
 |publisher   = [[Jewish Virtual Library]]
 |year        = 2008
 |access-date = 9 July 2014
}}</ref> [[Synagogue]]s were closed, Jewish goldsmiths were forbidden to produce Christian sacred objects such as [[chalice]]s and [[crucifixes]]<ref name = "JVL3">{{cite web
 |first       = Henry
 |last        = Wasserman
 |title       = Goldsmiths and Silversmiths
 |url         = https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/judaica/ejud_0002_0007_0_07579.html
 |publisher   = [[Jewish Virtual Library]]
 |year        = 2008
 |access-date = 13 July 2014
}}
</ref> and Jewish book binders were forbidden to bind books which included the names of Jesus or Mary.<ref name = "JVL4">{{cite web
 |first       = B. Mordechai
 |last        = Ansbacher
 |title       = Books
 |url         = https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/judaica/ejud_0002_0004_0_03322.html
 |publisher   = [[Jewish Virtual Library]]
 |year        = 2008
 |access-date = 13 July 2014
}}
</ref> Those laws were repealed by [[Pope Martin V]], after he received a mission of [[Jews]], sent by the famous synod convoked by the Jews in [[Forlì]], in 1418.

===Council of Constance===
In 1415, the [[Council of Constance]] brought this clash between papal claimants to an end. Gregory XII agreed to resign, and Baldassare Cossa, who had succeeded Philarghi as the Pisan papal contender in 1410 and had assumed the name [[Antipope John XXIII|John XXIII]], tried to flee and was deposed during his absence, being subsequently tried upon his return. Benedict, on the other hand, refused to stand down.

Finally, [[Emperor Sigismund]] organised a European summit in Perpignan, to convince Benedict to resign his office and end the Western Schism. On 20 September 1415, the Emperor met with Benedict at the [[Palace of the Kings of Majorca]], accompanied by King [[Ferdinand I of Aragon]], delegates of the counts of Foix, Provence, Savoy, and Lorraine, embassies from the kings of France, England, Hungary, Castile, and Navarre, and the Church's representative at the Council of Constance. Benedict still refused to resign, clashing with the Emperor, who left Perpignan on 5 November.<ref>{{66 PHPC}}</ref>

Because of this stubbornness, the Council of Constance declared Benedict a [[Schism (religion)|schism]]atic and [[excommunicated]] him from the Catholic Church on 27 July 1417, and elected [[Martin V]] as the new consensual pope on 11 November 1417. Benedict, who had lived in [[Perpignan]] from 1408 to 1417, now fled to the [[Peniscola Castle|Peníscola Castle]], near [[Tortosa]], in the Kingdom of Valencia. He still considered himself the true Pope. His claim was now only recognised in the Crown of Aragon, where he was given protection by King [[Alfonso V of Aragon|Alfonso V]]. Benedict remained at Peníscola from 1417 until his death there on 23 May 1423.<ref name=Brusher/>

[[File:Museo Arqueológico Nacional - 52160 - Báculo del Papa Luna 01.jpg|thumb|Crozier of Pope Luna, [[Museo Arqueológico Nacional]], Spain.]]

===Succession===
The day before his death, Benedict appointed four cardinals of proven loyalty to ensure the succession of another pope who would remain faithful to the now beleaguered Avignon line. Three of these cardinals met on 10 June 1423 and elected Sanchez Muñoz as their new pope, with Muñoz assuming the papal name of [[Antipope Clement VIII|Clement VIII]], whose claim was still recognised by Aragon. The fourth cardinal, Jean Carrier, the [[archdeacon]] of [[Rodez]] near [[Toulouse]], was absent at this conclave and disputed its validity, whereupon Carrier, acting as a sort of one man College of Cardinals, proceeded to elect Bernard Garnier, the sacristan of Rodez, as pope. Garnier took the name [[Antipope Benedict XIV|Benedict XIV]],<ref>Pham, John-Peter. Heirs to the Fisherman: Behind the Scenes of Papal Death and Succession. Oxford: [[Oxford University Press]], 2004. 331-332.</ref> but he would never get any importance.

When, in 1429, an agreement between Rome and Aragon was reached, Clement VIII abdicated in favour of recognising [[Pope Martin V]], terminating the Avignon line of anti-popes. In return, he was appointed as bishop of [[Roman Catholic Diocese of Majorca|Majorca]].

==Burials==
[[File:Illueca - Palacio del Papa Luna - Cráneo.jpg|thumb|The skull in 2008 in Illueca.]]
Benedict XIII was buried in [[Peníscola]] castle. His body was later moved to [[Illueca]]; but during the [[War of the Spanish Succession]] his remains were destroyed. Only his [[Human skull|skull]] was saved, and it was kept in the palace of the Counts of [[Argillo]] in [[Sabiñán]]. Aragon, Spain.
In April 2000, it was [[body snatching|stolen]] from the now ruined palace.
The thieves sent an anonymous letter to the mayor of Illueca asking for {{Currency|1000000|ESP}} ({{currency|6000|EUR}}).
The [[Spanish Civil Guard]] found that they were two brothers who were sentenced in November 2006 to 6 months in prison, substituted with {{currency|2190|EUR}}.<ref name="Periódico">{{cite news |title=El robo del cráneo del Papa Luna se queda en una multa |url=https://www.elperiodicodearagon.com/noticias/la-cronica-de-calatayud/robo-craneo-papa-luna-queda-multa_281096.html |access-date=22 March 2021 |work=El Periódico de Aragón |date=2006-11-07 |language=es}}</ref>
The skull was recovered in September 2000.
After an anthropological survey, it was placed in the [[Zaragoza Museum]], where it is not in exhibition.<ref name="Campo">{{cite news |last1=Campo |first1=Ramón J. |title=El cráneo del Papa Luna: historia de un robo {{!}} Reportaje especial en Heraldo.es |url=https://www.heraldo.es/especiales/papaluna/ |access-date=22 March 2021 |work=www.heraldo.es |language=es}}</ref>

==Attempted rehabilitation==
On 21 December 2018, the association "Friends of Pope Luna" presented to the [[Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith]] a petition to have Benedict recognised as a legitimate pontiff.<ref>La rehabilitación del Papa Luna. https://www.lasprovincias.es/comunitat/rehabilitacion-papa-luna-20190211232314-ntvo.html</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Allen Jr.| first=John L.|title=Push to rehabilitate past pope illustrates great truth about the present| url=https://cruxnow.com/news-analysis/2019/02/12/push-to-rehabilitate-past-pope-illustrates-great-truth-about-the-present/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190212093755/https://cruxnow.com/news-analysis/2019/02/12/push-to-rehabilitate-past-pope-illustrates-great-truth-about-the-present/|archive-date=2019-02-12}}</ref>

==See also==
{{commons category|Benedictus XIII (antipope)}}
* [[Papal selection before 1059]]
* [[Papal conclave]] (since 1274)

==Notes==
{{reflist}}

==Accounts of his life==
''The Anti-pope (Peter de Luna, 1342–1423): A study in obstinacy'' by Alec Glasfurd, Roy Publishers, New York (1965) B0007IVH1Q is a somewhat fictionalised or imaginative account of his life.

''Pluja seca'' by [[Jaume Cabré]] (2001) is a play based on his death and succession.

''L'Anneau du pêcheur'' ("The Ring of the Fisherman"— a play on the words ''pêcheur'', meaning ''fisherman'', and ''pécheur'', meaning ''sinner'') is a 1995 novel by the French writer Jean Raspail. The narrative has two timelines: the time of Benedict XIII, the last antipope of the Avignon Papacy, and contemporary times, when the Catholic Church tries to discover Benedict's successor, as it turns out that his line of papacy has continued in secret throughout the centuries. The book received the Prix Maison de la Presse and the Prince Pierre Foundation's Literary Prize.{{citation needed|date=November 2018}}

==References==
* {{Cite AmCyc|wstitle=Luna, Pedro de |short=x}}
*{{Cite Catholic Encyclopedia|wstitle=Pedro de Luna}}
*{{cite web|last=Chow|first=Gabriel|title=Antipope Benedict XIII (1394–1423)|url=http://www.gcatholic.org/hierarchy/pope/antipope-B13.htm|work=GCatholic.org|access-date=6 December 2010|location=[[Toronto]]}}
*{{cite book|last=Hughes|first=Philip E.|title=A History of the Church'':Volume 3:'' The Revolt Against the Church: Aquinas to Luther|publisher=[[Continuum International Publishing Group]]|isbn=978-0-7220-7983-6|location=London|date=1 January 1947}}
{{Western Schism timeline}}
{{Antipopes|state=collapsed}}
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{{Subject bar |portal1= Biography |portal2= Christianity |portal3= Catholicism |portal4= Spain
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Benedict 13}}
[[Category:1328 births]]
[[Category:1423 deaths]]
[[Category:14th-century antipopes]]
[[Category:14th-century Aragonese Roman Catholic priests]]
[[Category:15th-century antipopes]]
[[Category:15th-century Aragonese Roman Catholic priests]]
[[Category:Antipopes]]
[[Category:Avignon Papacy]]
[[Category:Bishops of Carpentras]]
[[Category:People from the Province of Zaragoza]]
[[Category:Western Schism]]
[[Category:Victims of body snatching]]