Pope Benedict XII

Pope Benedict XII

Papacy began	30 December 1334
Papacy ended	25 April 1342
Predecessor	John XXII
Successor	Clement VI
Orders
Created Cardinal	18 December 1327 by John XXII
Personal details
Birth name	Jacques Fournier
Born	c. 1280s Saverdun, Kingdom of France
Died	25 April 1342(1342-04-25) Avignon, County of Provence
Coat of arms	${{{coat_of_arms_alt}}}$
Other popes named Benedict

Papal styles of Pope Benedict XII

Reference style	His Holiness
Spoken style	Your Holiness
Religious style	Holy Father
Posthumous style	None

Pope Benedict XII (Latin: Benedictus XII; died 25 April 1342), born Jacques Fournier,^[1] was Pope from 20 December 1334^[2] to his death in April 1342.^[3] He was the third Avignon Pope.

Early life

Little is known of the origins of Jacques Fournier. He is believed to have been born in Canté in the Comté de Foix around the 1280s to a family of modest means. He became a Cistercian^[4] monk and left the countryside to study at the University of Paris. In 1311 he was made Abbot of Fontfroide Abbey and quickly became known for his intelligence and organizational ability. In 1317 he was made Bishop of Pamiers. There he undertook a rigorous hunt for Cathar heretics,^[5] such as Guillaume Bélibaste, which won him praise from religious authorities, but alienated the local people.

His efforts against the Cathars of Montaillou in the Ariège were carefully recorded in the Fournier Register, which he took to Rome and deposited in the Vatican Library.^[6] His transcription was edited by Jean Duvernoy and has been documented by Emmanuel Le Roy Ladurie's pioneering microhistory, Montaillou, village occitan.

In 1326, upon the successful rooting out of the last – it was believed – heretics of the south, he was made Bishop of Mirepoix in the Ariège, and, a year later, in 1327, he was made a cardinal.

Fournier's accession to the Papacy

Fournier succeeded Pope John XXII as Pope in 1334, being elected on the first ballot of the papal conclave. A common practice at the time was for cardinals to vote for a cardinal who was not considered a real possibility for the papacy on the first ballot, in order to see how the other cardinals were leaning. However, this time, over two-thirds of the cardinals independently voted for Fournier. The cardinals had not planned this, so the accession of the obscure Fournier on the first ballot was an entirely accidental affair.^[7]

Benedict XII was a reforming pope who did not carry out the policies of his predecessor. He chose to make peace with Holy Roman Emperor Louis IV, and as far as possible came to terms with the Franciscans, who were then at odds with the Roman See. He tried to curb the luxuries of the monastic orders, though without much success. He also ordered the construction of the Palais des Papes in Avignon.

Benedict spent most of his time working on questions of theology. He rejected many of the ideas developed by John XXII. In this regard, he promulgated an apostolic constitution, Benedictus Deus, in 1336. This dogma defined the Church's belief that the souls of the departed go to their eternal reward immediately after death, as opposed to remaining in a state of unconscious existence until the Last Judgment.^[8]^[9] Though some claim that he campaigned against the Immaculate Conception, this is far from clear. He engaged in long theological debates with other noted figures of the age, such as William of Ockham and Meister Eckhart.

Though born a Frenchman, Benedict felt no patriotism towards France nor her king, Philip VI.^[4] From the start of his papacy, relations between him and Philip were frigid.^[4] After being informed of Philip's plan to invade Scotland, Benedict hinted that Edward III, King of England would most likely win, regardless.^[4]

Pope Benedict XII's tomb, Cathédrale de Notre-Dame-des-Doms, Avignon

References

↑ George L. Williams, Papal Genealogy:The Families and Descendants of the Popes, (McFarland & Company Inc., 1998), 42.
↑ Takashi Shogimen, Ockham and Political Discourse in the Late Middle Ages, (Cambridge University Press, 2007), 156.
↑ Mike Carr, Merchant Crusaders in the Aegean, 1291-1352, (The Boydell Press, 2015), 103.
1 2 3 4 Jonathan Sumption, Trial by Battle, Vol.1, (Faber and Faber, 1990), 152-153.
↑ Lutz Kaelber, Schools of Asceticism: Ideology and Organization in Medieval Religious Communities, (The Pennsylvania State University Press, 1998), 219.
↑ Norman Davies, Europe: A History, (Oxford University Press, 1996), 411.
↑ http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/02430a.htm
↑ Benedictus Deus on Wikisource
↑ "''Benedictus Deus'' on". Papalencyclicals.net. Retrieved 2013-06-23.

Catholic Church titles
Preceded by John XXII	Pope 30 December 1334 – 25 April 1342	Succeeded by Clement VI
Preceded by Pilfort de Rabastens	Bishop of Pamiers 1317 – 1326	Succeeded by Dominique Grenier

Popes of the Catholic Church

List of popes canonised Tombs extant non-extant Antipope Pope emeritus Papal resignation Pope-elect

1st–4th centuries During the Roman Empire (until 493) including under Constantine (312–337)	Peter Linus Anacletus Clement I Evaristus Alexander I Sixtus I Telesphorus Hyginus Pius I Anicetus Soter Eleuterus Victor I Zephyrinus Callixtus I Urban I Pontian Anterus Fabian Cornelius Lucius I Stephen I Sixtus II Dionysius Felix I Eutychian Caius Marcellinus Marcellus I Eusebius Miltiades Sylvester I Mark Julius I Liberius Damasus I Siricius Anastasius I

5th–8th centuries Ostrogothic Papacy (493–537) Byzantine Papacy (537–752) Frankish Papacy (756–857)	Innocent I Zosimus Boniface I Celestine I Sixtus III Leo I Hilarius Simplicius Felix III Gelasius I Anastasius II Symmachus Hormisdas John I Felix IV Boniface II John II Agapetus I Silverius Vigilius Pelagius I John III Benedict I Pelagius II Gregory I Sabinian Boniface III Boniface IV Adeodatus I Boniface V Honorius I Severinus John IV Theodore I Martin I Eugene I Vitalian Adeodatus II Donus Agatho Leo II Benedict II John V Conon Sergius I John VI John VII Sisinnius Constantine Gregory II Gregory III Zachary Stephen II Paul I Stephen III Adrian I Leo III

9th–12th centuries Papal selection before 1059 Saeculum obscurum (904–964) Crescentii era (974–1012) Tusculan Papacy (1012–1044/1048) Imperial Papacy (1048–1257)	Stephen IV Paschal I Eugene II Valentine Gregory IV Sergius II Leo IV Benedict III Nicholas I Adrian II John VIII Marinus I Adrian III Stephen V Formosus Boniface VI Stephen VI Romanus Theodore II John IX Benedict IV Leo V Sergius III Anastasius III Lando John X Leo VI Stephen VII John XI Leo VII Stephen VIII Marinus II Agapetus II John XII Benedict V Leo VIII John XIII Benedict VI Benedict VII John XIV John XV Gregory V Sylvester II John XVII John XVIII Sergius IV Benedict VIII John XIX Benedict IX Sylvester III Benedict IX Gregory VI Clement II Benedict IX Damasus II Leo IX Victor II Stephen IX Nicholas II Alexander II Gregory VII Victor III Urban II Paschal II Gelasius II Callixtus II Honorius II Innocent II Celestine II Lucius II Eugene III Anastasius IV Adrian IV Alexander III Lucius III Urban III Gregory VIII Clement III Celestine III Innocent III

13th–16th centuries Viterbo (1257–1281) Orvieto (1262–1297) Perugia (1228–1304) Avignon Papacy (1309–1378) Western Schism (1378–1417) Renaissance Papacy (1417–1534) Reformation Papacy (1534–1585) Baroque Papacy (1585–1689)	Honorius III Gregory IX Celestine IV Innocent IV Alexander IV Urban IV Clement IV Gregory X Innocent V Adrian V John XXI Nicholas III Martin IV Honorius IV Nicholas IV Celestine V Boniface VIII Benedict XI Clement V John XXII Benedict XII Clement VI Innocent VI Urban V Gregory XI Urban VI Boniface IX Innocent VII Gregory XII Martin V Eugene IV Nicholas V Callixtus III Pius II Paul II Sixtus IV Innocent VIII Alexander VI Pius III Julius II Leo X Adrian VI Clement VII Paul III Julius III Marcellus II Paul IV Pius IV Pius V Gregory XIII Sixtus V Urban VII Gregory XIV Innocent IX Clement VIII

17th–20th centuries Revolutionary Papacy (1775–1848) Roman Question (1870–1929) Vatican City (1929–present) World War II (1939–1945)	Leo XI Paul V Gregory XV Urban VIII Innocent X Alexander VII Clement IX Clement X Innocent XI Alexander VIII Innocent XII Clement XI Innocent XIII Benedict XIII Clement XII Benedict XIV Clement XIII Clement XIV Pius VI Pius VII Leo XII Pius VIII Gregory XVI Pius IX Leo XIII Pius X Benedict XV Pius XI Pius XII John XXIII Paul VI John Paul I John Paul II

21st century	Benedict XVI Francis

Book Category Pope portal Catholicism portal

Catholic Church

Organizations, papacy, teachings and liturgical traditions

Doctors
of the
Church

Pope Francis

Preceding
popes

Institutes
and societies

Associations
of the Faithful

Charity

Vatican II

Particular
churches

Liturgical rites

Catholicism portal
Pope portal
Index

History of the Catholic Church

General	History of the Catholic Church History of Christianity History of the Papacy History of the Roman Curia Timeline of the Catholic Church Art in Roman Catholicism Catholic Ecumenical Councils Catholic religious institutes Christian monasticism Papal States Role of the Christian Church in civilization

Church beginnings	Jesus Twelve Apostles Saint Peter Paul the Apostle Saint Stephen John the Apostle Great Commission Council of Jerusalem Apostolic Age Apostolic Fathers Ignatius of Antioch Irenaeus Pope Victor I Tertullian

Constantine to Pope Gregory I	Constantine the Great and Christianity Arianism Archbasilica of St. John Lateran First Council of Nicaea Pope Sylvester I First Council of Constantinople Biblical canon Jerome Vulgate First Council of Ephesus Council of Chalcedon Benedict of Nursia Second Council of Constantinople Pope Gregory I Gregorian chant

Early Middle Ages	Third Council of Constantinople Saint Boniface Byzantine Iconoclasm Second Council of Nicaea Charlemagne Pope Leo III Fourth Council of Constantinople East–West Schism

High Middle Ages	Pope Urban II Investiture Controversy Crusades First Council of the Lateran Second Council of the Lateran Third Council of the Lateran Pope Innocent III Latin Empire Francis of Assisi Fourth Council of the Lateran Inquisition First Council of Lyon Second Council of Lyon Bernard of Clairvaux Thomas Aquinas

Late Middle Ages	Pope Boniface VIII Avignon Papacy Pope Clement V Council of Vienne Knights Templar Catherine of Siena Pope Alexander VI

Protestant Reformation Counter-Reformation	Protestant Reformation Counter-Reformation Thomas More Pope Leo X Society of Jesus Ignatius of Loyola Francis Xavier Dissolution of the Monasteries Council of Trent Pope Pius V Tridentine Mass Teresa of Ávila John of the Cross Philip Neri Robert Bellarmine

Baroque Period to the French Revolution	Pope Innocent XI Pope Benedict XIV Suppression of the Society of Jesus Anti-clericalism Pope Pius VI Shimabara Rebellion Edict of Nantes Dechristianisation of France during the French Revolution

19th century	Pope Pius VII Pope Pius IX Dogma of the Immaculate Conception of the Virgin Mary Our Lady of La Salette Our Lady of Lourdes First Vatican Council Papal infallibility Pope Leo XIII Mary of the Divine Heart Prayer of Consecration to the Sacred Heart Rerum novarum

20th century	Pope Pius X Our Lady of Fátima Persecutions of the Catholic Church and Pius XII Pope Pius XII Pope Pius XII Consecration to the Immaculate Heart of Mary Dogma of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary Lateran Treaty Pope John XXIII Second Vatican Council Pope Paul VI Pope John Paul I Pope John Paul II World Youth Day 1995 2000

21st century	Catholic Church sexual abuse cases Pope Benedict XVI World Youth Day 2002 2005 2008 2011 2013 Pope Francis

By country or region	Belize Brazil Canada Cuba France Germany Great Britain Haiti Hispano-America Ireland Italy Japan Mexico Norway Poland Portugal Spain United States Vatican City Venezuela Vietnam

Pope portal Vatican City portal Catholicism portal

Authority control	WorldCat Identities VIAF: 36914465 LCCN: n85088928 ISNI: 0000 0001 2369 1690 GND: 118508903 SUDOC: 026717506 BNF: cb11891183k (data) ULAN: 500314191

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Wednesday, April 13, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.

Pope Benedict XII

Early life

Fournier's accession to the Papacy

References

Further Reading