- Pope Callixtus III
Infobox Pope
English name=Calixtus III
birth_name=Alfonso de Borja
term_start=April 8 ,1455
term_end=August 6 ,1458
predecessor=Nicholas V
successor=Pius II
birth_date=birth date|1378|12|31|mf=y
birthplace=Xàtiva , València, Spain
dead=dead|death_date=death date and age|1458|8|6|1378|12|31|df=y
deathplace=Rome , Italy
other=CallixtusPope Calixtus III (
December 31 ,1378 –August 6 ,1458 ), né "Alfonso de Borja", wasPope fromApril 8 ,1455 to his death in 1458.Biography
Alfonso de Borja was born near
Xàtiva ,València , todaySpain but thenKingdom of Valencia under theCrown of Aragon . His early career was spent as a professor oflaw atUniversity of Lleida and then as adiplomat in the service of the Kings ofAragon , especially during theCouncil of Basel (1431–1439). He became a cardinal after reconcilingPope Eugene IV (1431–1447) with KingAlfonso V of Aragon (1416–1458).He was raised to the papal chair in 1455 as Calixtus III at a very advanced age as a compromise candidate. He was viewed by historians as being feeble and incompetent. In the same year, he issued a Papal bulle (bulletin/edict) to Portugal. This bulle authorized it to reduce to servitude (enslave) "infidels" (non-christian) people. Thus, the Catholic Church gave permission to Portugal and its other subjugate countries to engage in the Trans-Atlantic, African Slave Trade. Therefore, assuring that the enslavement of Africans was not contradictory to the word of God nor the teachings of the church itself - without retaliation or penalization from either.
The great object of his policy was the urging of a
crusade against the Turks, who had capturedConstantinople in 1453, but he did not find the Christian princes responsive to his call despite his every effort.Pope Calixtus III made two of his nephews cardinals, one of whom, Roderic de Borgia, later became
Pope Alexander VI (1492–1503) and was infamous for corruption.On
June 29 ,1456 , he ordered the bells to be rung at noon (seenoon bell ) in all the Churchs to call Christians for prayer. As news spread with some delay, this order became connected with the crusade to lift theSiege of Belgrade (which happened onJuly 22 ), which was a signal victory against the Turks. To commemorate this victory, Calixtus III ordered the feast of the Transfiguration to be held onAugust 6 .He ordered a new trial for
St. Joan of Arc (c. 1412–1431), at which she was posthumously vindicated after being controversially tried and executed.Calixtus III's pre-papal
coat of arms featured a grazing ox.The "bull against the comet."
According to one story, first appearing in a posthumous biography in 1475 and later embellished and popularized by
Pierre-Simon Laplace , Calixtus III excommunicated the 1456 apparition ofHalley's Comet , believing it to be an ill omen for the Christian defenders ofBelgrade , who were at that time being besieged by the armies of theOttoman Empire . No known primary source supports the authenticity of this account. Calixtus III'spapal bull ofJune 29 ,1456 , which called for public prayer for the success of the crusade, makes no mention of the comet, and byAugust 6 , when the Turkish siege was broken, the comet had not been visible from Europe or Turkey for several weeks.
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