Pope Benedict XIII

Pope Benedict XIII (; 2 February 1649 – 21 February 1730), born Pietro Francesco Orsini, later Friar Vincenzo Maria Orsini, O.P., was an Italian priest of the Roman Catholic Church and the 246th Pope from 1724 until his death in 1730. "List of Popes,"  Catholic Encyclopedia (2009); retrieved 2011-11-7.  He was the third and last member of the Orsini family to be a pope."Pope Benedict XI," Catholic Encyclopedia; retrieved 2011-11-7.

Early life
He was born in Gravina in Puglia near Naples.  He was the son of Ferdinando III Orsini, Duke of Gravina.

In 1667, Orsini entered the Dominican Order.  As a monk, his name was Vincent Maria.

Cardinal
Pope Clement X raised the monk to the rank of Cardinal of San Sisto on 22 February 1672.

In 1675, he was made Bishop of Manfredonia.

In 1686, he was made Archbishop of Benevento.

Pope
Cardinal Orsini was elected pope on May 28, 1724;  and he chose to be called Benedict XIII.Note on ordinal numbering: Popes Benedict XI–XVI are really the 10th–15th popes with that name.  This is because Benedict X is now parsed as an antipope; but during the reign of Benedict XI, this was not recognized. The "true" or actual twelfth pope Benedict identified himself with the ordinal number XIII.  In other words, the numbering of popes after the 10th Benedict needs to be explained -- compare Popes Boniface VIII–IX.

Pope Benedict was involved in Italian and European political disputes.

In 1727, he ordered construction of the famous Spanish Steps in Rome.

In 1729, the pope helped bring about the Treaty of Seville between Great Britain, France, and Spain.

After his death
Benedict was buried in a tomb in Santa Maria sopra Minerva completed by Pietro Bracci and others.

Related pages 
 List of popes
 List of popes from the Orsini family

References

Other websites


  Catholic Hierarchy,   Pope Benedict XIII
  Cardinals of the Holy Roman Church ,  Cardinal Orsini 

Category:Italian popes
Category:1649 births
Category:1730 deaths