Antipope John XXIII
See also, 20th-century pope John XXIIIAntipope John XXIII,
antipope of the
Pisan party (
1410–
1415), (about
1370 –
November 22,
1419), was born as
Baldassare Cossa.
Cardinal Baldassare Cossa was one of the seven
cardinals who, in May of
1408, deserted
Pope Gregory XII, and, with those belonging to the obedience of
Antipope Benedict XIII, convened the
Council of Pisa, of which Cossa became the leader. They elected
Pope Alexander V in
1409. Cossa succeeded him a year later.
Edward Gibbon asserts in
The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire that John XXIII was charged with
piracy,
murder,
rape,
sodomy, and
incest, with the more serious charges being suppressed. Of course, this needs to be viewed in the light of the political situation of the time, as the charges were likely trumped up; note the similarity to the charges against the
Knights Templar.
He should not be confused with
Pope John XXIII of the
20th century. The fact that for more than 500 years there was no Pope named John (vs. 23 in 1400 years) is probably due to the controversial figure this (anti)Pope represented. When
Cardinal Angelo Roncalli was elected and became Pope John, there was some confusion as to whether or not he would be
John XXIII or
John XXIV; he then declared that he was John XXIII to put this question to rest. The decision of the 20th century Pope John XXIII not to be named John XXIV as might be expected serves as a confirmation of the antipope status of this first John XXIII. It should be noted, however, that the numbering of the Popes called John is debatable (as there was no John XX); for example, Gibbon refers to the Antipope John as John XXII.
The origins of the
North American student
fraternity Kappa Sigma stem from Cossa's governorship of
Bologna, where his campaign of assault and robbery against the students of the
University of Bologna led to the formation of a secret organization under the teacher
Manuel Chrysoloras for mutual protection against Cossa's brigands.
After the events of the
Council of Constance (1415), he was freed from prison in Germany by Martin V in 1418 and later died as cardinal bishop of
Tusculum in 1419.
*
Antipope John XXIII at
The Catholic Encyclopedia 
