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David Bawden

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David Bawden
Papacy beganJuly 16, 1990
Papacy endedAugust 2, 2022
Opposed toJohn Paul II
Benedict XVI
Francis
Orders
OrdinationDecember 11, 2011
by Robert Biarnesen
ConsecrationDecember 11, 2011
by Robert Biarnesen
Personal details
Born(1959-09-22)September 22, 1959
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, U.S.
DiedAugust 2, 2022(2022-08-02) (aged 62)
Kansas City, Missouri, U.S.
Ordination history
History
Diaconal ordination
Ordained byRobert Biarnesen
DateDecember 11, 2011
Priestly ordination
Ordained byRobert Biarnesen
DateDecember 11, 2011
Episcopal consecration
Consecrated byRobert Biarnesen
DateDecember 11, 2011

David Allen Bawden (September 22, 1959 – August 2, 2022),[1] who took the name Pope Michael, was an American citizen and a conclavist claimant to the papacy. He stated in 2009 that he had approximately 30 "solid followers."[2]

In 1990 Bawden was elected pope by a group of six laypeople, including himself and his parents, who had come to believe that the Catholic Church had apostatized from the Catholic faith since Vatican II, and that there had been no legitimate popes elected since the death of Pope Pius XII in 1958.[3] In 2011, he was ordained a priest and consecrated a bishop by an Independent Catholic bishop.

Early life and education

Bawden was born in 1959 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, to Clara (née Barton) and Kenneth Bawden.[1][4] He attended elementary school and high school in Oklahoma City.[4] In 1975, Bawden and his family began to follow the Society of St. Pius X (SSPX). Bawden studied at the SSPX seminary in Écône, Switzerland, and Saint Joseph's Priory in Armada, Michigan, but was dismissed from the seminary in 1978.[5] Prior to claiming the papacy, he worked as a real estate agent and furniture maker.[6]

Claim to the papacy

See also: Conclavism

Bawden believed that all the popes since the death of Pope Pius XII on October 9, 1958, were modernists, heretics, and apostates, and that, therefore, their elections were invalid because of the changes of Vatican II.[7] He considered them to have incurred latae sententiae (automatic) excommunication, not so much for violating Pope Pius X's laws on modernism, as the laws of God.[7]

In 1990, Bawden, his parents, and three other former adherents of the SSPX held a papal conclave at the Bawden family's thrift store in Delia, Kansas.[8] Bawden, then aged 30, was elected pope.[9][10] He styled himself "Michael I" after Saint Michael the Archangel.[6] Bawden had invited hundreds of Independent Catholic bishops and sedevacantists to attend the election, but none of them did so.[11] As Bawden had never been ordained a priest, he was unable to celebrate Mass.[8]

Later years and death

After the election, Bawden continued living at home with his parents.[8] He established a presence on the internet as an alternative claimant to the papacy;[12] in 2009 he stated that he had approximately 30 "solid followers".[13]

In 2010, independent filmmaker Adam Fairholm created a feature-length documentary, Pope Michael.[14][15]

Bawden announced that he had been ordained a priest and then consecrated a bishop on December 11, 2011, by an Independent Catholic episcopus vagans, Bishop Robert Biarnesen of the Duarte-Costa and Old Catholic episcopal lineages.[16][17] Bawden claimed that he was able to validly confect Catholic sacraments, offer the Mass, ordain other men to the priesthood, and consecrate them as bishops as the Duarte-Costa and Old Catholic lineages are valid in the eyes of the church.[18]

Bawden died on August 2, 2022, in Kansas City, Missouri.[1]

References

  1. ^ a b c Batesville, Inc. "Obituary for Father David A. Bawden at Davidson Funeral Home". www.davidsonfuneral.com. Retrieved August 2, 2022. {{cite web}}: |first= has generic name (help)
  2. ^ "Pope Michael" – Full Documentary, archived from the original on December 21, 2021, retrieved March 24, 2021
  3. ^ [1] Bawden, David. "About." – Vatican in Exile. N.p., n.d. Web. April 27, 2016. <http://vaticaninexile.com/about.php>.
  4. ^ a b Seba, Erwin (July 23, 1990). "'Pope' explains theological conflicts". Kansas State Collegian. Vol. 96, no. 165. pp. 1, 5.
  5. ^ Brisendine, Steve (May 30, 2005). "Despite few followers, 'Pope Michael' holds to beliefs". The Topeka Capital-Journal. Retrieved April 24, 2012.
  6. ^ a b Fruhling, Larry (November 4, 1990). "Papal pretender twits the real one". The Des Moines Register. p. 1.
  7. ^ a b Frank, Thomas (2004). "Antipopes among us". What's the Matter with Kansas?: How Conservatives Won the Heart of America. Macmillan. pp. 217–224. ISBN 978-0-8050-7339-3.
  8. ^ a b c Allen, John L. (2004). Conclave: The Politics, Personalities, and Process of the Next Papal Election. New York: Image/Doubleday. pp. 1–3. ISBN 978-0-385-50453-9.
  9. ^ "Group elects area man pope". Kansas State Collegian. Vol. 96, no. 164. Associated Press. July 19, 1990. p. 8.
  10. ^ Fox, Robin (2011). The Tribal Imagination: Civilization and the Savage Mind. Harvard University Press. p. 104. ISBN 9780674059016.
  11. ^ "Frequently Asked Questions – Vatican in Exile". Vatican in exile. Archived from the original on January 16, 2021. Retrieved March 24, 2021.
  12. ^ Last, Jonathan V. (December 2005). "God on the Internet". First Things. No. 158. pp. 34–40. ISSN 1047-5141.
  13. ^ "Pope Michael" – Full Documentary, archived from the original on December 21, 2021, retrieved March 24, 2021
  14. ^ Coppen, Luke (February 29, 2012). "Today's Catholic must-reads". Catholic Herald. Retrieved April 29, 2012.
  15. ^ David Mills (February 28, 2012), "We have a Pope, but not that one", First Things, Institute on Religion and Public Life
  16. ^ Jarvis, Edward (2018). God, Land & Freedom: the true story of ICAB. Apocryphile Press. p. 169. ISBN 9781947826908.
  17. ^ Anderson, Phil (January 13, 2012). "Kansas 'pope' leads a flock in exile". The Topeka Capital-Journal. Retrieved August 3, 2022.
  18. ^ Bawden, David (November 2, 2016). "Validity of The Ordination and Consecration of Pope Michael". Pope Michael. Retrieved March 27, 2019.
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