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245th Roman Pontiff
Servant of God Benedict XIII
BENEDICTVS Tertius Decimus
Pierfrancesco Orsini, O.P.
245th Successor of St Peter · 1724–1730 · Italy · b. Gravina in Puglia, Kingdom of Naples
1724
Elected
1730
Reign ended
6 years
Length
18th
Century
The Life
Subject of the Kingdom of Naples. Member of the Dominican Order, with the religious name Vincenzo. Third and last member of the Orsini family to become pope.
Originally called Benedict XIV due to the antipope but reverted to XIII. Repealed the worldwide tobacco smoking ban set by Urban VII and Urban VIII. During his pontificate, James Bradley discovered the stellar aberration, proving the relative motion of the Earth in its orbit around the Sun.
Portrait: Unidentified painter / Wikimedia Commons