Antipope John XXIII

Antipope John XXIII, born Baldassare Cossa (c. 1365 – 22 November 1419), was a central figure during the Western Schism who served as an antipope from 1410 to 1415, whose controversial reign and subsequent deposition at the Council of Constance played a pivotal role in the eventual resolution of the papal crisis.

Early Life and Ecclesiastical Career

Baldassare Cossa was born around 1365 in the Kingdom of Naples, into a noble family of Aragonese descent. He pursued higher education at the University of Bologna, where he studied canon and civil law, acquiring a deep understanding of ecclesiastical jurisprudence. Entering the clergy, Cossa rapidly ascended the ecclesiastical hierarchy. In 1402, Pope Innocent VII elevated him to the rank of cardinal deacon. Cossa proved to be a capable and ambitious administrator, serving as a papal legate in the Romagna and the March of Ancona, where he effectively expanded and consolidated papal territories through both diplomatic and military means.

Election as Antipope

The election of Cossa occurred against the backdrop of the Western Schism, a period of division within the Catholic Church featuring competing claimants to the papacy in Rome and Avignon. In an attempt to resolve the crisis, the Council of Pisa was convened in 1409. The council deposed both the Roman Pope Gregory XII and the Avignon Antipope Benedict XIII, electing Alexander V as the new, universally recognized pope. However, Alexander V died shortly after his election in 1410. On May 25, 1410, the Pisan cardinals convened again and elected Baldassare Cossa as his successor. He took the regnal name John XXIII. While he was recognized as pope in France, England, Bohemia, and parts of the Holy Roman Empire, his authority was fiercely contested by the Roman and Avignon factions.

Pontificate and Controversies

John XXIII’s tenure as antipope was marked by political instability and severe personal controversy. Initially, he faced the aggressive expansionism of King Ladislaus of Naples, who sought to dominate central Italy. Unable to withstand Ladislaus's military pressure, John XXIII was forced to flee Bologna in 1413, seeking refuge in the Holy Roman Empire.

During and after his flight, John XXIII became the target of relentless accusations regarding his moral and financial conduct. His detractors, particularly those aligned with the Roman faction, accused him of piracy, simony, incest, murder, and rampant corruption. While modern historians often view many of these charges as exaggerated political propaganda designed to discredit him, it is widely acknowledged that his administration was highly secular, heavily reliant on nepotism, and deeply involved in the ruthless political machinations of the Italian Renaissance.

Council of Constance and Deposition

In an effort to secure his position and formally condemn his rivals, John XXIII convened a general church council in Constance in 1414, with the backing of Sigismund, King of the Romans. However, the Council of Constance quickly turned against him. Facing pressure to resign and confronted with the aforementioned charges of immorality and heresy, John XXIII fled Constance in disguise in March 1415.

His escape was short-lived; he was captured near Freiburg and imprisoned. The council proceeded without him, and in May 1415, John XXIII was formally tried and deposed on charges of heresy, simony, schism, and moral turpitude. His deposition paved the way for the council to eventually secure the resignation of the Roman Pope Gregory XII and the deposition of the Avignon Antipope Benedict XIII, thereby ending the Western Schism with the election of Pope Martin V in 1417.

Later Life, Death, and Legacy

Following his deposition, John XXIII was kept in custody in Heidelberg and later in Mannheim. Through the intervention of Sigismund, who had been crowned Holy Roman Emperor, he was eventually released and reconciled with the newly elected Pope Martin V. He was appointed Cardinal Bishop of Tusculum and lived out his final days in Florence under the protection of the Medici family. He died on November 22, 1419.

John XXIII was buried in the Florence Baptistery, where his tomb, a magnificent bronze effigy and marble canopy sculpted by Donatello and Michelozzo, remains a masterpiece of early Renaissance art.

The legacy of his name experienced a unique historical footnote in the 20th century. In 1958, Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli was elected to the papacy and chose the name John XXIII. To avoid the implication that Roncalli was a successor to the antipope, the Vatican officially clarified that Baldassare Cossa is recognized strictly as an antipope, and Roncalli is the legitimate Pope John XXIII. Consequently, the numbering of legitimate popes continued seamlessly, and no future legitimate pope has needed to take the name John XXIV.