Pope Francis paid tribute to his predecessor, the Servant of God Pope Benedict XIII, on the 300th anniversary of his election.
In a message to participants in a Mass in Benedict XIII’s hometown of Gravina in Puglia, Pope Francis praised his predecessor’s devotion to prayer, disdain for worldliness, compassion to the poor, commitment to the renewal of the clergy, and Marian devotion. Cardinal Marcello Semeraro, prefect of the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints, was the principal celebrant of the Mass.
A Dominican friar, Benedict XIII (1649-1730) was the last pope to hail from southern Italy. His cause for beatification, opened in 1755, was reopened in 1931 and 2004.