reviews previous Pope Benedicts, a theme further developed by .

I would add to this that there are a couple of entertaining antipope Benedicts in the historical record: the Avignon line of the Great Schism started of course with (Anti)Pope Clement VII (born 1342, reigned 1378-1394), elected when the cardinals thought better of their first choice in 1378, Urban VI (not coincidentally, the last Pope elected who wasn’t already a cardinal).Clement died in 1394 and his supporters elected Pedro Marti­nez de Luna, born in 1328, as (Anti)Pope Benedict XIII. Benedict XIII’s position gradually eroded, he managed to get deposed by two different church Councils (Pisa in 1409 and Constance in 1418); but he soldiered on regardless until dying in his mid 90’s in 1423.

Rather inefficiently, Benedict XIII left it to the last minute to prepare for the succession, and appointed four cardinals (according to legend) just a few days before he died. Three of them agreed on (Anti)Pope Clement VIII(Anti)Pope Benedict XIV. Garnier is supposed to have lasted six or seven years as a very secret Pope, and then died, leaving a very small college of loyal cardinals who turned to Jean Carrier as his successor. Carrier took the exceptionally eccentric step of calling himself not Benedict XV, but Benedict XIV the second. His end is obscure.