Pope Benedict XII

Pope Benedict XII
Bishop of Rome
Portrait by Henri Serrur
Church	Catholic Church
Papacy began	30 December 1334
Papacy ended	25 April 1342
Predecessor	John XXII
Successor	Clement VI
Orders
Consecration	1317 by Niccolò Alberti
Created cardinal	18 December 1327 by John XXII
Personal details
Born	Jacques Fornier 1285 Saverdun, Kingdom of France
Died	25 April 1342(1342-04-25) (aged 56–57) Avignon, County of Provence
Coat of arms
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, French: Benoît XII; 1285 – 25 April 1342), born Jacques Fournier, was a cardinal and inquisitor, later head of the Catholic Church from 30 December 1334 to his death, in April 1342. He was the third Avignon pope and reformed monastic orders and opposed nepotism. Unable to remove his capital to Rome or Bologna, Benedict started the great palace at Avignon. He settled the beatific vision controversy of Pope John XXII^[a] with the bull Benedictus Deus, which stated that souls may attain the "fullness of the beatific vision" before the Last Judgment.^[2] Despite many diplomatic attempts with Emperor Louis IV to resolve their differences, Benedict failed to bring the Holy Roman Empire back under papal dominance. He died 25 April 1342 and was buried in Avignon.

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