Popes and Antipopes on This Day in History

 

This Day in History: Pope Benedict XVI resigned the papacy on this day in 2013. However, many believe he was maneuvered out, and that Pope Francis is actually an antipope. There have been over 40 antipopes throughout church history. An antipope is a person who claims the papacy in opposition to the lawful pope. Hippolytus of Rome (d. 235) is commonly considered to be the earliest antipope. There is also a theological position embraced by some Traditionalist Catholics called Sedevacantism which holds that the Papal See has been vacant since the death of Pope Pius XII in 1958 (or, in some cases, the death of Pope John XXIII in 1963). This may be an extension of Vatican Council II and the move away from the older more traditional form of Catholicism, like the Tridentine Mass (Traditional Latin Mass).