Before becoming pope in 1303, Blessed Benedict XI was Niccolò Boccasini, who entered the Dominican order in 1254 and became its general in May 1296. He was created a cardinal in 1298 and was appointed legate to Hungary in 1302. He was one of two cardinals who stood by Pope Boniface VIII on September 7, 1303, when the pope, who was about to excommunicate King Philip IV of France, was seized by the king’s supporters in an attempt to depose him from the papacy. Boniface was freed by the local populace but died shortly thereafter, and Boccasini succeeded him, becoming Benedict XI.
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