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David Bawden

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For the information science scholar, seeDavid Bawden (academic).

David Bawden
Pope Michael I
InstalledJuly 16, 1990
Term endedAugust 2, 2022
SuccessorRogelio Martinez
Opposed to
Orders
OrdinationDecember 11, 2011
byRobert 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 namePope Michael I,was an Americanconclavistclaimant to thepapacy.Bawden believed that theCatholic Churchhadapostatizedfrom the Catholic faith sinceVatican II,and that there had been no legitimate popes elected since the death ofPope Pius XIIin 1958. In 1990 he was elected pope by a group of sixlaypeople,including himself and his parents. In 2011, he wasordaineda priest and consecrated abishopby anIndependent Catholicbishop.

Early life and education

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Bawden was born in 1959 inOklahoma City,Oklahoma, to Clara (néeBarton) and Kennett Bawden.[1][2][3]He attended elementary school and high school in Oklahoma City.[2]He had one brother.[3]

Bawden's parents weretraditionalist Catholicswho rejectedVatican II.[4]In the mid-1970s, he and his family became followers of theSociety of St. Pius X(SSPX).[5][6]Bawden enteredthe SSPX seminaryinÉcône,Switzerland,in 1977, then transferred to Saint Joseph's Priory inArmada, Michigan.He was dismissed in 1978.[4][6]His family subsequently moved toSt. Marys, Kansas,where the SSPX ranSaint Mary's Academy and College.Bawden worked for the school and his brother attended it.[7]In 1981 Bawden broke with the SSPX.[5]Prior to claiming the papacy, he worked as a real estate agent and furniture maker.[8]

Claim to the papacy

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See also:Conclavism

Bawden believed that all the popes since the death ofPope Pius XIIon October 9, 1958, weremodernists,heretics, andapostates,and that their elections wereinvalid.[9]On July 16, 1990, Bawden, his parents, and three other laypeople held apapal conclaveat the Bawden family's thrift store inBelvue, Kansas.[5][3]Bawden, then aged 30, was elected pope.[10][11]He styled himself "Michael I" afterSaint Michael the Archangel.[8]Bawden had invited hundreds ofIndependent Catholicbishops andsedevacantiststo the election, but none attended.[12]As Bawden was notordaineduntil 2011, he was unable to celebrateMassor confect thesacramentsas a priest.[4]

Later years and death

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After the election, Bawden continued living at home with his parents.[3]In 1993, they relocated toDelia, Kansas.[5]His father died in 1995.[13]Bawden established a presence on the internet as an alternative claimant to the papacy;[14]in 2009 he stated that he had approximately 30 "solid followers".[15]He supported himself through donations and by republishing out-of-print religious literature.[6]In 2010, the independent filmmaker Adam Fairholm released a feature-length documentary about him,Pope Michael.[16]

Bawden announced that he had been ordained a priest and then consecrated a bishop on December 11, 2011, by anIndependent Catholicepiscopus vagans,Bishop Robert Biarnesen of theDuarte-CostaandOld Catholicepiscopal lineages.[17][18]Bawden said that he was able tovalidlycelebrate Catholic sacraments, offer theMass,ordain other men to the priesthood, and consecrate them as bishops, since he believed that the Duarte-Costa and Old Catholic lineages were recognized as valid by the Catholic Church.[19]

In a 2022 interview released posthumously, Bawden said that his church had grown to more than 100 members.[20]

On July 10, 2022, his church's Twitter account posted that Bawden had to have emergency surgery and was in a coma.[21]Bawden died on August 2, 2022, in Kansas City, Missouri.[1][22]

On July 29, 2023, some of his followers electedRogelio Martinez,a bishop from thePhilippines,as his successor. He took the nameMichael II.[23]

References

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  1. ^abc"Obituary for Father David A. Bawden".davidsonfuneral.Davidson Funeral Home.Archivedfrom the original on August 3, 2022.RetrievedAugust 2,2022.
  2. ^abSeba, Erwin (July 23, 1990). "'Pope' explains theological conflicts ".Kansas State Collegian.Vol. 96, no. 165. pp.1,5.
  3. ^abcdHenning, Sarah (October 17, 2009)."The gospel of Pope Michael: Kansan stakes own claim to Catholic Church".Lawrence Journal-World.Archivedfrom the original on December 15, 2021.RetrievedAugust 3,2022.
  4. ^abcBrisendine, Steve (May 30, 2005)."Despite few followers, 'Pope Michael' holds to beliefs".The Topeka Capital-Journal.Archived fromthe originalon November 28, 2012.RetrievedApril 24,2012.
  5. ^abcdMelton, J. Gordon(1994)."Catholic Church (Pope Michael I)".Encyclopedia of American Religions: Fourth Edition Supplement.Detroit: Gale Research Inc. p. 1.ISBN978-0-8103-8818-5.
  6. ^abcBawden, David; Asadi, Torang (September 2, 2010).Pope Michael Oral History.Religious Studies Department, University of Kansas.Archivedfrom the original on September 7, 2015.RetrievedAugust 3,2022.
  7. ^Crumbo, Christine (August 17, 1990)."Kansas worshippers secede, elect pope".Miami Herald.Knight-Ridder News Service.Archivedfrom the original on August 3, 2022.RetrievedAugust 3,2022.
  8. ^abFruhling, Larry (November 4, 1990). "Papal pretender twits the real one".The Des Moines Register.pp.1A,9A.
  9. ^Frank, Thomas(2004)."Antipopes among us".What's the Matter with Kansas?: How Conservatives Won the Heart of America.Macmillan. pp.217–224.ISBN978-0-8050-7339-3.
  10. ^"Group elects area man pope".Kansas State Collegian.Vol. 96, no. 164. Associated Press. July 19, 1990. p. 8.
  11. ^Fox, Robin(2011).The Tribal Imagination: Civilization and the Savage Mind.Harvard University Press.p. 104.ISBN9780674059016.
  12. ^"Frequently Asked Questions".Vatican in Exile.Archivedfrom the original on January 16, 2021.RetrievedMarch 24,2021.
  13. ^"Obituary: Bawden, Kennett".Rossville Kansas Genealogy.Archivedfrom the original on August 5, 2022.RetrievedAugust 4,2022.
  14. ^Last, Jonathan V.(December 2005)."God on the Internet".First Things.No. 158. pp. 34–40.ISSN1047-5141.Archivedfrom the original on August 3, 2022.RetrievedAugust 3,2022.
  15. ^Fairholm, Adam (director) (2010).Pope Michael(Documentary).Archivedfrom the original on December 22, 2020.RetrievedMarch 24,2021.
  16. ^Mills, David(February 28, 2012),"We have a Pope, but not that one",First Things,Institute on Religion and Public Life,archivedfrom the original on August 5, 2022,retrievedDecember 25,2018
  17. ^Jarvis, Edward(2018).God, Land & Freedom: the true story of ICAB.Apocryphile Press. p. 169.ISBN9781947826908.
  18. ^Anderson, Phil (January 13, 2012)."Kansas 'pope' leads a flock in exile".The Topeka Capital-Journal.Archivedfrom the original on August 5, 2022.RetrievedAugust 3,2022.
  19. ^Bawden, David (November 2, 2016)."Validity of The Ordination and Consecration of Pope Michael".Pope-Michael.Archivedfrom the original on March 27, 2019.RetrievedMarch 27,2019.
  20. ^Interview with Pope Michael.Pontifacts Podcast.September 2, 2022.
  21. ^#Vatican in Exile [@Francis5Domini3] (July 10, 2022)."Please keep His Holiness Pope Michael in your prayers. He had emergency brain surgery this evening. Blood was found on the brain. For the time being he is being kept in a coma"(Tweet) – viaTwitter.
  22. ^#Vatican in Exile [@Francis5Domini3] (August 3, 2022)."Today at 10:18 Pope Michael passed on into eternity. RIP"(Tweet) – viaTwitter.
  23. ^"Habemus Papam!: Michael II".Magnus Lundberg.August 10, 2023.RetrievedSeptember 12,2023.

Further reading

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