List of tombs of antipopes

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The tomb of Antipope John XXIII in Florence TombaGiovanni.jpg
The tomb of Antipope John XXIII in Florence
The martyrdom of Hippolytus of Rome Hippolytus martyrdom.jpg
The martyrdom of Hippolytus of Rome
Christopher, who was regarded as a legitimate pope until the 19th century, was buried among the papal tombs in Old St. Peter's Basilica. Basilica di San Pietro 1450.jpg
Christopher, who was regarded as a legitimate pope until the 19th century, was buried among the papal tombs in Old St. Peter's Basilica.
Benedict X's corpse is still intact in Sant'Agnese in Agone. Sant'Agnese in Agone (Rome) esterno.jpg
Benedict X's corpse is still intact in Sant'Agnese in Agone.
Innocent II demolished and rebuilt Santa Maria in Trastevere to smite the tomb of Anacletus II. Santa Maria in Trastevere front.jpg
Innocent II demolished and rebuilt Santa Maria in Trastevere to smite the tomb of Anacletus II.
La Trinita della Cava was a prison to several antipopes, including Innocent III. Badia di Cava.JPG
La Trinità della Cava was a prison to several antipopes, including Innocent III.
Only the head of the effigy from the tomb of Clement VII (originally in the Avignon Cathedral) survived the French Revolution. VIIKelemen.jpg
Only the head of the effigy from the tomb of Clement VII (originally in the Avignon Cathedral) survived the French Revolution.
The tomb of Alexander V in San Francesco (Bologna) 6116 - Bologna - San Francesco - Tomba di Alessandro V (+1410) 1424 e 1482 - Foto Giovanni Dall'Orto, 9-Feb-2008.jpg
The tomb of Alexander V in San Francesco (Bologna)
The tomb of Clement VIII in La Seu Palma Antipapa Clemens VIII.JPG
The tomb of Clement VIII in La Seu
Felix V was buried alongside his predecessors as Count of Savoy in Hautecombe Abbey. Hautecombe Abbaye Savoie front.jpg
Felix V was buried alongside his predecessors as Count of Savoy in Hautecombe Abbey.

An antipope is a historical papal claimant not recognized as legitimate by the Catholic Church. Unlike papal tombs, the tombs of antipopes have generally not been preserved, with a few notable exceptions.

Several tombs of antipopes were desecrated and destroyed, often by their rival claimants, shortly after their creation. [1] For example, Pope Innocent II razed Santa Maria in Trastevere (one of the main Marian basilicas and one of the oldest churches of Rome) to the ground and was eventually buried over the spot once occupied by the tomb of his rival, Pope Anacletus II. [2] Others survived centuries, only to be destroyed during conflicts such as the French Revolution and the War of the Spanish Succession, a fate common to some non-extant papal tombs. [3] [4] Such was the case with the tomb of Antipope Felix V (the last historical antipope), who was buried with most of his predecessors as Count of Savoy in Hautecombe Abbey. [5]

Others are obscure because of the damnatio memoriae surrounding the lives of antipopes, [6] or because they were refused burial due to excommunication. [1] [7] Some of those can be presumed to have been buried unceremoniously in the monasteries to which the antipopes were confined after submitting or losing power. [1] The exception is Hippolytus of Rome, the first antipope, who was translated to Rome by his former rival Pope Fabian following his martyrdom, and is regarded as a saint. [8]

Various antipopes, however, received prominent burials, including one among the papal tombs in Old St. Peter's Basilica (which were destroyed during the sixteenth/seventeenth century demolition). [9] In particular, the conciliar claimants of the Western Schism were entombed in elaborate tombs in important churches by famous sculptors. The tomb of Antipope John XXIII typifies political iconography of antipapal burial, subtly arguing for the legitimacy of the entombed. [10]

PontificateCommon English nameSculptorLocationNotes
217–235 Hippolytus
Saint Hippolytus		UnknownCemetery of HippolytusRemains translated to Rome by his rival Pope Fabian; inscription by Pope Damasus I recorded in Orazio Marucchi's Christian Epigraphy [8]
251–258 Novatian UnknownUnknownTombstone discovered in 1932 on the Via Tiburtina in Rome with the inscription "blessed martyr Novation"; considered unverified by scholars because the inscription lacks the word "bishop" [11]
355–365 Felix II
Saint Felix		UnknownChurch on Via AureliaMartyred and sainted; buried in a church of his making on the Via Aurelia according to Liber Pontificalis [12]
366–367 Ursicinus Unknown Gaul [12]
418–419 Eulalius UnknownUnknownNothing known of death but year [13]
498–499 Laurentius UnknownUnknownDied on the farm of his patron Festus [14]
530 Dioscorus UnknownUnknown Memory was officially condemned by Pope Boniface II but reinstated by Pope Agapetus I [6]
687 Theodore UnknownUnknownNothing known of him after his concession to Pope Sergius I [15]
687 Paschal UnknownUnknownImprisoned in an unknown monastery until his death and buried in an unknown location [15]
766–768 Constantine II UnknownUnknownDied in an unknown monastery after much corporal mortification at the hands of the followers of Pope Stephen III [16]
768 Philip UnknownUnknownNo historical references after his return to his Monastery of St. Vito (Rome) [16]
844 John VIII UnknownUnknownNothing more known after he was confined to a monastery [17]
855 Anastasius UnknownUnknown [18]
903–904 Christopher Unknown Old St. Peter's Basilica Interred in Old St. Peter's by his overthrower, Pope Sergius III; destroyed in the seventeenth century demolition of Old St. Peter's; fragment of epitaph recorded by Peter Mallius [9]
984–985 Boniface VII UnknownUnknownRoman mob seized his corpse, stripped him of his vestments, dragged him through the streets, and deposited it at the feet of a statue of Marcus Aurelius on horseback, at which point he was trampled and stabbed; carried away by clerics at night and buried in an unknown location [19]
997–998 John XVI UnknownUnknownBodily mutilated by Pope Gregory V and Otto III, Holy Roman Emperor and confined to a Roman monastery until his death [20]
1012 Gregory VI Unknown Hamburg, Germany Died in Hamburg; no documentation of funeral or monument exist [21]
1058–1059 Benedict X Unknown Sant'Agnese in Agone Sarcophagus in the crypt (not open to public) still contains his corpse [22]
1061–1064 Honorius II UnknownUnknownDied in Parma [22]
1080 Clement III UnknownUnknownDied in Civita Castellana [23]
1100–1101 Theodoric Unknown Cava de' Tirreni Died at La Trinità della Cava but buried in the local cemetery; tombstone contains the words "Theodoric, 1102" [24]
1101 Adalbert UnknownBenedictine Abbey of San Lorenzo (Aversa) [24]
1105–1111 Sylvester IV UnknownUnknownDied under the care of his patron, Count Werner of Ancona; nothing of death or burial known [24]
1118–1121 Gregory VIII UnknownUnknownImprisoned in many places; last known to have been kept in Cava de' Tirreni, but it is unknown if he died there [24]
1124 Celestine II UnknownUnknownNot an antipope sensu stricto, because his election was legitimate; he was forced to resign a papacy a day after and subsequently submitted to the Pope Honorius II, who was elected in his place. [25] Died from beating inflicted during the election. [26]
1130–1138 Anacletus II Unknown Santa Maria in Trastevere Destroyed by Pope Innocent II along with much of the church; Innocent II arranged for his own burial, in the rebuilt church, on the site of his former rivals' [2] [27]
1138 Victor IV UnknownUnknown
(perhaps priorate of S. Eusebio in Fontanella [28] )		Nothing known of his biography after his resignation [2]
1159–1164 Victor IV UnknownMonastery in Lucca The clergy of the Lucca Cathedral and San Frediano would not allow him buried there because of his excommunication; tomb destroyed by Pope Gregory VIII in December 1187 [1]
1164–1168 Paschal III UnknownUnknownDied in Castel Sant'Angelo [1]
1168–1178 Callixtus III UnknownUnknownDied in Benevento [1]
1179–1180 Innocent III Unknown La Trinità della Cava (Cava de' Tirreni) [1]
1328–1330 Nicholas V Unknown Avignon Died in the Church of the Franciscans, Avignon [29]
1378–1394 Clement VII Perrin Morel Musée du Petit Palais, Avignon Original canopied tomb in the Avignon Cathedral moved on September 8, 1401 to the chapel of the Celestines, and in 1658 to the choir of the church; almost completely destroyed during the French Revolution, only the head of the effigy remains [3]
1394–1417 Benedict XIII UnknownCastle of Illueca, SpainOriginally buried in the chapel crypt in Peñíscola; translated to Illueca, Spain and mummified under glass, attracting pilgrims; smashed by an Italian prelate Porro in 1537, after which the room was sealed by the archbishop of Saragossa; destroyed and desecrated by the French during the War of the Spanish Succession; skull recovered and put on display at the castle; buried in the palace of the Counts of Argillo y Morata at Sabinan in 1936 during the Spanish Civil War; skull stolen on August 23, 2000 by the Mayor of Illueca, Javier Vicente Inez, who attempted to ransom it; Spanish police recovered the skull and returned it to the Castle at Illueca on September 3, 2000 [4]
1409–1410 Alexander V Niccolò di Piero Lamberti and Sperandio Savelli San Francesco (Bologna) Wall tomb [30]
1410–1415 John XXIII Donatello and Michelozzo Florence Baptistry See Tomb of Antipope John XXIII
1423–1429 Clement VIII Unknown La Seu (Mallorca)Buried in the Cappella de la Piedad in the Cathedral of Palma, Spain [7]
1424–1429 Benedict XIV NoneUnder a rock in Armagnac, FranceRefused burial in a church because of his excommunication [7]
1430–1437 Benedict XIV UnknownUnknownDied imprisoned in Château de Foix [7]
1439–1449 Felix V
Amadeus VIII, Count of Savoy		Unknown Hautecombe Abbey (Ripaille, France)Destroyed during the French Revolution; name listed on an extant memorial plaque that commemorates him and the other Counts of Savoy, whose tombs were also destroyed in the same Abbey [5]

Notes

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Reardon, 2004, p. 95.
  2. 1 2 3 Reardon, 2004, p. 92.
  3. 1 2 Reardon, 2004, p. 138.
  4. 1 2 Reardon, 2004, pp. 140–141.
  5. 1 2 Reardon, 2004, p. 153.
  6. 1 2 Reardon, 2004, p. 43.
  7. 1 2 3 4 Reardon, 2004, p. 150.
  8. 1 2 Reardon, 2004, p. 27.
  9. 1 2 Reardon, 2004, p. 69.
  10. ↑ Lightbown, R.W. 1980. Donatello & Michelozzo. London: Harvey Miller. ISBN   0-905203-22-4. p. 16l; Caplow, Harriet McNeal. 1977. Michelozzo. New York: Garland Publishing, Inc. ISBN   978-0-8240-2678-3. p. 107.
  11. ↑ Reardon, 2004, p. 29.
  12. 1 2 Reardon, 2004, p. 37.
  13. ↑ Reardon, 2004, p. 39.
  14. ↑ Reardon, 2004, p. 42.
  15. 1 2 Reardon, 2004, p. 56.
  16. 1 2 Reardon, 2004, p. 59.
  17. ↑ Reardon, 2004, p. 62.
  18. ↑ Reardon, 2004, p. 64.
  19. ↑ Reardon, 2004, p. 75.
  20. ↑ Reardon, 2004, pp. 76–77.
  21. ↑ Reardon, 2004, p. 81.
  22. 1 2 Reardon, 2004, p. 85.
  23. ↑ Reardon, 2004, p. 87.
  24. 1 2 3 4 Reardon, 2004, p. 89.
  25. ↑ I. S. Robinson, The Papacy. Continuity and innovation, Cambridge University Press 1990, p. 66
  26. ↑ Reardon, 2004, p. 90.
  27. ↑ Prinz, Joachim. 1966. Popes of the Ghetto. Horizon. p. 237.
  28. ↑ Miranda, S. 1998. "The Cardinals of the Holy Roman Church: Biographical Dictionary: Pope Callistus II (1119–1124): Consistory of December 1122 (VII)". Florida International University. Retrieved 17 June 2009.
  29. ↑ Reardon, 2004, p. 127.
  30. ↑ Reardon, 2004, p. 269.

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References

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