List of tombs of antipopes


An antipope is a historical papal claimant not recognized as legitimate by the Catholic Church. Unlike papal tombs, the tombs of antipopes have generally not been preserved, with a few notable exceptions.
Several tombs of antipopes were desecrated and destroyed, often by their rival claimants, shortly after their creation. For example, Pope Innocent II razed Santa Maria in Trastevere to the ground and was eventually buried over the spot once occupied by the tomb of his rival, Pope Anacletus II. Others survived centuries, only to be destroyed during conflicts such as the French Revolution and the War of the Spanish Succession, a fate common to some non-extant papal tombs. Such was the case with the tomb of Antipope Felix V, who was buried with most of his predecessors as Count of Savoy in Hautecombe Abbey.
Others are obscure because of the damnatio memoriae surrounding the lives of antipopes, or because they were refused burial due to excommunication. Some of those can be presumed to have been buried unceremoniously in the monasteries to which the antipopes were confined after submitting or losing power. The exception is Hippolytus of Rome, the first antipope, who was translated to Rome by his former rival Pope Fabian following his martyrdom, and is regarded as a saint.
Various antipopes, however, received prominent burials, including one among the papal tombs in Old St. Peter's Basilica. In particular, the conciliar claimants of the Western Schism were entombed in elaborate tombs in important churches by famous sculptors. The tomb of Antipope John XXIII typifies political iconography of antipapal burial, subtly arguing for the legitimacy of the entombed.
PontificateCommon English nameSculptorLocationNotes
a217–235Hippolytus
Saint Hippolytus		UnknownCemetery of HippolytusRemains translated to Rome by his rival Pope Fabian; inscription by Pope Damasus I recorded in Orazio Marucchi's Christian Epigraphy
b251–258NovatianUnknownUnknownTombstone discovered in 1932 on the Via Tiburtina in Rome with the inscription "blessed martyr Novation"; considered unverified by scholars because the inscription lacks the word "bishop"
c355–365Felix II
Saint Felix		UnknownChurch on Via AureliaMartyred and sainted; buried in a church of his making on the Via Aurelia according to Liber Pontificalis
d366–367UrsicinusUnknownGaul
e418–419EulaliusUnknownUnknownNothing known of death but year
f498–499LaurentiusUnknownUnknownDied on the farm of his patron Festus
g530DioscorusUnknownUnknownMemory was officially condemned by Pope Boniface II but reinstated by Pope Agapetus I
h687TheodoreUnknownUnknownNothing known of him after his concession to Pope Sergius I
i687PaschalUnknownUnknownImprisoned in an unknown monastery until his death and buried in an unknown location
j766–768Constantine IIUnknownUnknownDied in an unknown monastery after much corporal mortification at the hands of the followers of Pope Stephen III
k768PhilipUnknownUnknownNo historical references after his return to his Monastery of St. Vito
l844John VIIIUnknownUnknownNothing more known after he was confined to a monastery
m855AnastasiusUnknownUnknown
n903–904ChristopherUnknownOld St. Peter's BasilicaInterred in Old St. Peter's by his overthrower, Pope Sergius III; destroyed in the seventeenth century demolition of Old St. Peter's; fragment of epitaph recorded by Peter Mallius
o984–985Boniface VIIUnknownUnknownRoman mob seized his corpse, stripped him of his vestments, dragged him through the streets, and deposited it at the feet of a statue of Marcus Aurelius on horseback, at which point he was trampled and stabbed; carried away by clerics at night and buried in an unknown location
p997–998John XVIUnknownUnknownBodily mutilated by Pope Gregory V and Otto III, Holy Roman Emperor and confined to a Roman monastery until his death
q1012Gregory VIUnknownHamburg, GermanyDied in Hamburg; no documentation of funeral or monument exist
r1058–1059Benedict XUnknownSant'Agnese in AgoneSarcophagus in the crypt still contains his corpse
s1061–1064Honorius IIUnknownUnknownDied in Parma
t1080Clement IIIUnknownUnknownDied in Civita Castellana
u1100–1101TheodoricUnknownCava de' TirreniDied at La Trinità della Cava but buried in the local cemetery; tombstone contains the words "Theodoric, 1102"
v1101AdalbertUnknownBenedictine Abbey of San Lorenzo
w1105–1111Sylvester IVUnknownUnknownDied under the care of his patron, Count Werner of Ancona; nothing of death or burial known
x1118–1121Gregory VIIIUnknownUnknownImprisoned in many places; last known to have been kept in Cava de' Tirreni, but it is unknown if he died there
y1124Celestine IIUnknownUnknownNot an antipope sensu stricto, because his election was legitimate; he was forced to resign a papacy a day after and subsequently submitted to the Pope Honorius II, who was elected in his place. Died from beating inflicted during the election.
z1130–1138Anacletus IIUnknownSanta Maria in TrastevereDestroyed by Pope Innocent II along with much of the church; Innocent II arranged for his own burial, in the rebuilt church, on the site of his former rivals'
za1138Victor IVUnknownUnknown
Nothing known of his biography after his resignation
zb1159–1164Victor IVUnknownMonastery in LuccaThe clergy of the Lucca Cathedral and San Frediano would not allow him buried there because of his excommunication; tomb destroyed by Pope Gregory VIII in December 1187
zc1164–1168Paschal IIIUnknownUnknownDied in Castel Sant'Angelo
zd1168–1178Callixtus IIIUnknownUnknownDied in Benevento
ze1179–1180Innocent IIIUnknownLa Trinità della Cava
zf1328–1330Nicholas VUnknownAvignonDied in the Church of the Franciscans, Avignon
zg1378–1394Clement VIIPerrin MorelMusée du Petit Palais, AvignonOriginal canopied tomb in the Avignon Cathedral moved on September 8, 1401 to the chapel of the Celestines, and in 1658 to the choir of the church; almost completely destroyed during the French Revolution, only the head of the effigy remains
zh1394–1417Benedict XIIIUnknownCastle of Illueca, SpainOriginally buried in the chapel crypt in Peñíscola; translated to Illueca, Spain and mummified under glass, attracting pilgrims; smashed by an Italian prelate Porro in 1537, after which the room was sealed by the archbishop of Saragossa; destroyed and desecrated by the French during the War of the Spanish Succession; skull recovered and put on display at the castle; buried in the palace of the Counts of Argillo y Morata at Sabinan in 1936 during the Spanish Civil War; skull stolen on August 23, 2000 by the Mayor of Illueca, Javier Vicente Inez, who attempted to ransom it; Spanish police recovered the skull and returned it to the Castle at Illueca on September 3, 2000
zi1409–1410Alexander VNiccolò di Piero Lamberti and Sperandio SavelliSan Francesco Wall tomb
zj1410–1415John XXIIIDonatello and MichelozzoFlorence BaptistrySee Tomb of Antipope John XXIII
zk1423–1429Clement VIIIUnknownLa Seu Buried in the Cappella de la Piedad in the Cathedral of Palma, Spain
zl1424–1429Benedict XIV-Under a rock in Armagnac, FranceRefused burial in a church because of his excommunication
zm1430–1437Benedict XIVUnknownUnknownDied imprisoned in Château de Foix
zn1439–1449Felix V
Amadeus VIII, Count of Savoy		UnknownHautecombe Abbey Destroyed during the French Revolution; name listed on an extant memorial plaque that commemorates him and the other Counts of Savoy, whose tombs were also destroyed in the same Abbey