Antipope Benedict XIII
Born Pedro de Luna in 1328, Antipope Benedict XIII was a canon lawyer and a cardinal deacon when in 1378, he voted to elect Urban VI to the papacy. Shortly after that, he concluded that the rioting that had caused the curia to elect Urban invalidated the election, and he joined the French cardinals at Anagni, where they elected Robert of Geneva Clement VII. Benedict succeeded him in 1394. Benedict was elected at Avignon on the condition that he abidicate if necessary to end the schism between Avignon and Rome. When the Council of Pisa deposed him and Pope Gregory XII in 1409, Benedict refused to resign. He refused to submit to the Council of Constance, which deposed him in 1417. He continued to create cardinals as late as November, 1422 and died in 1423. Napoleon's soldiers desecrated his remains, except for the skull, and scattered them in the wind.
Karen Rae Keck
including the header and this copyright notice, remain intact.