Pope John XXI (1215-20 May 1277), born Pedro Juliao and also known as Pedro Hispano, was Pope from 8 September 1276 to 20 May 1277, succeeding Pope Adrian V and preceding Pope Nicholas III. Despite being named "John XXI", he was really "John XIX", as Antipope John VIII and Antipope John XVI had also been counted as popes, and he skipped the number "XX" (twenty).
Biography[]
Pedro Juliao was born in 1215 to the House of Hispano, a dynasty of Portuguese Catholics. He was previously a physician, and he wrote a textbook on logic under the name "Pedro Hispano". In 1276, Pedro was consecrated as pope, succeeding Pope Adrian V. John skipped the number "John XX" to become "John XXI", and he is technically the nineteenth pope if the antipopes are not counted as popes. During his papacy, he planned a crusade, but he died when his apartment collapsed in an accident on 20 May 1277.