Boniface VIII (pope)
1230 – 1303 Italian Pope (1294-1303)
Pope who claimed supreme power over kings and was humiliated by the king of France.
- Religion
- Catholic; Bishop of Rome
- Affiliations
- The papacy
Boniface VIII made the boldest claim of papal power ever put in writing. His 1302 bull Unam Sanctam declared that it is absolutely necessary for salvation that every human creature be subject to the Roman pontiff. When he clashed with King Philip IV of France, French agents seized him at Anagni in 1303, and he died soon after, broken. He also proclaimed the first Jubilee holy year in 1300, drawing huge crowds of pilgrims to Rome.
In the timeline
- 1302 Unam Sanctam declares papal supremacy mentioned