orig. Jacques Fournier
born , Saverdun, near Toulouse, France
died April 25, 1342, Avignon, Provence
Pope (1334–42).
A French cardinal and theologian, he became the third pontiff to reign at Avignon (see Avignon papacy ), succeeding John XXII . The bishop of Pamiers and Mirepoix and a zealous inquisitor before his elevation to the papacy, Benedict devoted himself to the reform of the church and its religious orders; he also tried unsuccessfully to prevent the outbreak of the conflict between England and France that became the Hundred Years' War . His bull Benedictus Deus (1336) set forth the doctrine of the beatific vision as a vision of God granted to the souls of the just immediately after death.
Benedict XII, detail from a bust by Paolo da Siena, 1342; in the Grotto of the Vatican, Rome
Alinari-Anderson/Art Resource/EB Inc.