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Pope Benedict XII

Pope Benedict XII

1285 CE–1342 CE · Saverdun

Born Jacques Fournier near Foix, Benedict XII was a Cistercian monk and rigorous theologian before becoming pope at Avignon. As bishop of Pamiers he had conducted the meticulous inquisition recorded in the Fournier Register, a famous source on Cathar village life at Montaillou. As pope he was a determined reformer: he curbed bureaucratic abuses, disciplined the religious orders, and ordered the building of the great Palais des Papes, signaling Avignon's permanence. He settled the Beatific Vision dispute his predecessor had stirred. Austere and incorruptible but politically cautious, he failed to end the war between France and England or to return to Rome.

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Stop 0 of 21285–1326Born

Saverdun

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About Saverdun

Saverdun, a town in the Ariège of southwestern France. It was the birthplace of Jacques Fournier, the Cistercian who became Pope Benedict XII of Avignon.

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In the same place & time

Sages whose lives overlapped with Pope Benedict XII’s in the same cities, drawn from their recorded journeys.

Across the traditions

In the same tradition

Pope John XXII, Pope Clement VI

The world in their lifetime

Thinkers, teachers, and rulers whose lives overlapped with Pope Benedict XII’s — a glimpse of the wider world they lived in. Drawn purely from recorded birth and death years.

Christian world

Works

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