Pope Benedict XIII (Latin: Benedictus XIII; Italian: 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 leader of the Papal States from 29 May 1724 to his death in February 1730.
A 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.
Pietro Francesco was born in Gravina in Puglia, the eldest of six sons of Ferdinando III Orsini, 8th Duke of Gravina, and Giovanna della Tolfa. A member of the 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.
Pietro lectured in philosophy at Brescia. Through the influence of his family and against his will, he was made a Cardinal by Pope Clement X in 1672. Later he was bishop of Manfredonia, bishop of Cesena and then archbishop of Benevento. After an earthquake in 1688 and another in 1702, he organized relief efforts for the victims. He remained a close friend of a local mystic, Serafina of God.
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 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.
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. 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.
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 Italian priesthood and of the 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".
In 1727, he inaugurated the famous Spanish Steps 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.
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. According to Montesquieu, "All the money of Rome goes to Benevento... as the Beneventani direct [Benedict's] weakness".
In foreign relations, he struggled with both John V of Portugal and the Jansenists in France.
Beatifications and canonizations
Upon election, on 4 June 1724, Benedict XIII published the Bulls of Canonization for Saints previously celebrated:
Isidore the Farmer (Gregory XV - 12 March 1621)
Andrew Corsini, Carmelite (Urban VIII - 22 April 1629)
Philip Benizi, Servites (Clement X - 12 April 1671)