Boniface VIII | |
|---|---|
| Bishop of Rome | |
 Boniface VIII declaring the Jubilee Year, fresco by Giotto in the Basilica of St. John Lateran | |
| Church | Catholic Church |
| Papacy began | 24 December 1294 |
| Papacy ended | 11 October 1303 |
| Predecessor | Celestine V |
| Successor | Benedict XI |
| Previous post(s) |
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| Orders | |
| Consecration | 23 January 1295 by Hugh Aycelin |
| Created cardinal | 12 April 1281 by Martin IV |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Benedetto Caetani c. 1230 |
| Died | 11 October 1303 (aged 72–73) Rome, Papal States |
| Coat of arms |  |
| Other popes named Boniface | |
Pope Boniface VIII (Latin: Bonifatius PP. VIII; born Benedetto Caetani; c. 1230 – 11 October 1303) was the head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 24 December 1294 until his death in 1303. The Caetani family was of baronial origin, with connections to the papacy. He succeeded Pope Celestine V, who had abdicated from the papal throne. Boniface spent his early career abroad in diplomatic roles.
Boniface VIII put forward some of the strongest claims of any pope to temporal as well as spiritual power. He involved himself often with foreign affairs, including in France, Sicily, Italy, and the First War of Scottish Independence. These views, and his chronic intervention in temporal affairs, led to many bitter quarrels with Albert I of Germany, Philip IV of France, and Dante Alighieri, who expected the pope to soon arrive at the eighth circle of Hell in his Divine Comedy, among the simoniacs.
Boniface systematized canon law by collecting it in a new volume, the Liber Sextus (1298), which continues to be important source material for canon lawyers. He established the first Catholic jubilee year to take place in Rome. Boniface had first entered into conflict with King Philip IV in 1296 when the latter sought to reinforce the nascent nation state by imposing taxes on the clergy and barring them from administration of the law. Boniface excommunicated Philip and all others who prevented French clergy from traveling to the Holy See, after which the king sent his troops to attack the pope's residence in Anagni on 7 September 1303 and capture him. Boniface was held for three days; however, there is no evidence that the Pope was beaten or physically harmed. He died a month afterwards.
King Philip IV pressured Pope Clement V of the Avignon Papacy into staging a posthumous trial of Boniface. He was accused of heresy and sodomy but no verdict against him was delivered.