List of people excommunicated by the Roman Catholic Church

This is a list of some of the more notable people excommunicated by the Catholic Church. It includes only excommunications acknowledged or imposed by a decree of the Pope or a bishop in communion with him. Automatic excommunications are not included here if not confirmed by a bishop.

In Roman Catholic canon law, excommunication is a censure and thus a "medicinal penalty" intended to invite the person to change behavior or attitude, repent, and return to full communion.

Excommunicated Catholics are still Catholics and remain bound by obligations such as attending Mass, even though they are barred from receiving the Eucharist and from taking an active part in the liturgy (reading, bringing the offerings, etc.).

Priests and bishops may be excommunicated for violating solemn vows pertaining to their vocation.

1st century

• Simon Magus, for whom simony was named
• Hymenaeus and Alexander, excommunicated by Paul in the Acts of the Apostles.

2nd century

• Valentinus, proponent of Gnosticism
• Marcion of Sinope, originator of Marcionism
• Montanus, originator of Montanism
• Theodotus of Byzantium, proponent of Adoptionism, excommunicated by Pope Victor I

3rd century

• Sabellius, originator of Sabellianism
• Novatian, an early antipope who taught Novatianism
• Paul of Samosata, excommunicated by a synod at Antioch in 269
• Marcellus of Ancyra

4th century

• Arius, founder of Arianism

5th century

• Nestorius, proponent of Nestorianism
• Eutyches, proponent of Monophysitism
• Dioscorus I of Alexandria, who presided over the robber council of Ephesus

8th Century

The heretic preachers Adalbert and Clement by a council headed by St Boniface in 745. Adelbert's excommunication was not upheld by Rome, however, although Clement's was.

11th century

• Michael Cerularius, Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople, in 1054.

The legal validity of this excommunication has been questioned as it was delivered by legates of Pope Leo IX after the Pope's death. It was declared lifted on December 7, 1965.

• Henry IV, Holy Roman Emperor by Pope Gregory VII over the Investiture Controversy
• Bolesław II the Generous, Duke of Poland, was excommunicated in 1080 after murdering the bishop Saint Stanislaus of Kraków.
• Philip I of France, king of France, for repudiating his marriage and remarrying, by Hugh, Archbishop of Lyon and later reaffirmed by Pope Urban II.

12th century

• Frederick I Barbarossa, Holy Roman Emperor, by Alexander III
• Anselm V (Archbishop of Milan) by Pope Honorius II
• William I of Sicily, by Pope Adrian IV, while the king was waging war against the papal states and raiding pilgrims on their way to the tombs of the apostles.
• Ralph I, Count of Vermandois was said to have been excommunicated in 1142 by Bishop Saint Ivo of Chartres for repudiating his lawful wife and marrying another
• Roger II of Sicily, was excommunicated under the decrees of the Second Lateran Council in 1139
• Anacletus II, antipope
• Holy Roman Emperor, Henry IV, excommunicated a second time by Pope Paschal II for refusing to abjure his claim to imperial investitures, posthumously lifted in 1111

13th century

• King John of England by Pope Innocent III
• King Andrew II of Hungary, was excommunicated in 1231 after not following the points of Golden Bull of 1222, a seminal bill of rights, which contained new dispositions related to the tithe and hostile practices against the Jews and Muslims of the realm.
• Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor
• King Ladislaus IV of Hungary in 1279, by the pope's envoy Philip, for acting against the Catholic Church and living in a pagan way with the Cumans.
• James II of Aragon, in 1286 by Pope Boniface VIII for being crowned King of Sicily and thereby usurping a papal fief. His younger brother Frederick III of Sicily was excommunicated for the same reason in 1296.
• Jacopo Colonna and Pietro Colonna, both cardinals, were excommunicated by Pope Boniface VIII in the bull 'excelso throno' (1297) for refusing to surrender their relative Stefano Colonna (who had seized and robbed the pope's nephew) and refusing to give the pope Palestrina along with two fortresses, which threatened the pope. This excommunication was extended in the same year to Jacopo's nephews and their heirs, after the two Colonna cardinals denounced the pope's election as invalid and appealed to a general council.
• Eric VI of Denmark in 1298, by Pope Boniface VIII, for imprisoning Archbishop of Lund, Jens Grand.
• Byzantine Emperor Michael VIII Palaiologos of Constantinople, by Pope Martin IV.
• Peter III of Aragon, by Pope Martin IV

14th century

• Antipopes at Avignon Clement VII and Benedict XIII and their followers by proxy
• Barnabò Visconti, tyrant of Milan, by Blessed Urban V in 1363. This was later rescinded after Barnabo restored castles he had seized and peace was concluded between him and the papal states.
• Mercenary bands known as the 'free companies' that had overrun Italy and France were excommunicated by Blessed Urban V in 1366. Included in this excommunication were the German Count of Landau and the Englishman Sir John Hawkwood
• Pedro the Cruel of Navarre was excommunicated by Blessed Urban V for his persecutions of clergy and cruelty.
• King Philip the Fair of France in 1303 by Pope Boniface VIII, for failing to respond adequately to a papal letter regarding Philip's effective rejection of the pope's temporal authority.
• Ladislaus Kán, Hungarian noble regent of the region of Transylvania that was excommunicated in 1309 by the pope's envoy Gentilis for not handing over the Holy Crown of Hungary, that was being kept illegally by him.
• Máté Csák, Hungarian noble that was excommunicated in 1311 by the pope's envoy Gentilis, for not accepting the new King Charles I of Hungary.
• Robert the Bruce, King of Scots 1306-1329, was excommunicated following his killing of the Red Comyn before the altar of the Greyfriars Church at Dumfries in 1306.
• William de Lamberton, Bishop of St Andrews.
• David de Moravia, Bishop of Moray.
• Robert Wishart, Bishop of Glasgow.

15th century

• Saint Joan of Arc was excommunicated by Bishop Pierre Cauchon (even though he allowed her Holy Communion immediately before her immolation) on 30 May 1431. She was later fully reconciled to the Catholic Church at her posthumous Trial of Nullification on 7 July 1456.
• Jan Hus
• Girolamo Savonarola, was an Italian Dominican friar, excommunicated by Pope Alexander VI in 1497.

16th century

• Pietro Colonna in 1501 by Pope Alexander VI
• James IV of Scotland in 1513 for breaking the Treaty of Perpetual Peace with England.
• Martin Luther in 1520 by Pope Leo X.
• Henry VIII of England in 1533, officially promulgated on 17 December 1538 by Pope Paul III.
• Thomas Cranmer, Archbishop of Canterbury and first head of the Church of England.
• Elizabeth I of England in 1570 by the papal bull Regnans in Excelsis.
• Thomas Erastus founder of Erastianism
• Henry IV of France and Navarre, who famously retaliated by "excommunicating" the Pope. He later converted to Catholicism and his excommunication was lifted on 17 September, 1595.
• Giovanni Bentivoglio, leader of Bologna, in 1506 by Julius II, while the pope was at war with him and leading an army to take Bologna.
• Alfonso I d'Este, Duke of Ferrara, by Julius II in 1510.

17th century

• Mikołaj Sapieha in approximately 1625 by Pope Urban VIII; punishment for stealing a painting. The excommunication was lifted in 1634 to allow Sapieha to publicly oppose the suggested marriage of Władysław IV Vasa and Princess Elizabeth of Bohemia.
• Odoardo Farnese, Duke of Parma in 1641 by Pope Urban VIII during the Wars of Castro.

18th century

• All Catholic members of Freemasonry.
• Most important supporters of Jansenism, in the 1718 bull Pastoralis officii^{[citation needed]}
• Charles Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord, Bishop of Autun, by Pope Pius VI

19th century

• Napoleon was excommunicated June 10, 1809 for ordering the annexation of Rome and a long period of anti-Papal orders.
• Stephen Kaminski, PNCC bishop, in 1898
• Francis Hodur member of PNCC
• Catholics who denied papal infallibility (see Old Catholic Church)^{[citation needed]}
• Gregorio Aglipay Cruz y Labayan was a Roman Catholic priest who became the first Filipino Supreme Bishop of the Philippine Independent Church, a new Protestant church.^{[citation needed]} Excommunicated in May 1899 by Archbishop of Manila Bernardino Norzaleda y Villa.^{[citation needed]}
• Saint Mary MacKillop by Bishop Laurence Sheil in 1871. Five months later, from his deathbed, Shiel rescinded the excommunication. An Episcopal Commission later gave her a complete exoneration and it has since been made clear that the excommunication was never valid under Canon Law.^{[citation needed]}
• Fr. Edward McGlynn was excommunicated in 1887 for opposing the establishment of parochial schools believing that they were unnecessary.^{[citation needed]} The excommunication was lifted in 1892.^{[citation needed]}
• Fr. José María Morelos, Hidalgo y Costilla, Ignacio Allende, Juan Aldama, Mariano Abasolo and all of the Mexican Revolutionary Army for "disturbances of the public order, corrupting the public, sacrilege [and] perjury" in 1810.^{[citation needed]}

20th century

• Bishops in China who joined the Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association and ordained bishops without papal approval.^{[citation needed]}
• John XXIII excommunicated Fidel Castro in 1962^{[citation needed]}
• Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre, Bishops Antonio de Castro Meyer, Bernard Fellay, Bernard Tissier de Mallerais, Richard Williamson and Alfonso de Galarreta for the Ecône Consecrations (Society of St. Pius X) without papal mandate. Formally declared to have incurred latae sententiae excommunication by Cardinal Bernardin Gantin on July 1, 1988. The excommunications of the latter four (the bishops consecrated in that 1988 ceremony) were lifted in 2009; the first two (the consecrator and the co-consecrator) had died in the meantime.^{[citation needed]}
• Father Romolo Murri, a leader of the Italian Catholic Democrats, for giving speeches against Papal policy
• Juan Perón, in 1955, after he signed a decree ordering the expulsion of Argentine bishops Manuel Tato and Ramón Novoa
• All Catholics who participated in the creation of an independent church in the Philippines, in 1902
• Alfred Loisy, a French cleric associated with modernism.^{[citation needed]}
• Leonard Feeney, a U.S. Jesuit priest who defended the strict interpretation of the Roman Catholic doctrine "outside the Church there is no salvation", arguing that baptism of blood and baptism of desire are unavailing.^{[citation needed]} Feeney was later fully reconciled to the Church before his death.^{[citation needed]}
• All Catholics who participated in the trial of Archbishop Aloysius Stepinac, which included most of the jury members.
• Feliksa Kozłowska and the Mariavite movement in December 1906 by St Pius X^{[citation needed]}
• Plaquemines Parish President Leander Perez, Jackson G. Ricau (secretary of the Citizens Council of South Louisiana) and Mrs. B.J. Gaillot, Jr., president of Save Our Nation, Inc., on April 16, 1962 by Archbishop Joseph Rummel of the Archdiocese of New Orleans. They were excommunicated for aggressively opposing the racial integration of Catholic schools in the Archdiocese starting in the 1963-64 school year. Perez and Ricau were later reinstated into the Church following public retractions.
• John Duryea, popular priest at Stanford University and in Palo Alto, California, in 1976
• Tissa Balasuriya, Sri Lankan Catholic priest, excommunicated in 1997 for his doctrinal views but had this excommunication lifted a year later after admitting "perceptions of error", and agreeing to submit all future writings to his bishops for their imprimatur.

21st century

• Members of multiple organizations in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Lincoln, Nebraska were excommunicated by Bishop Fabian Bruskewitz in March 1996 for promoting positions he deemed "totally incompatible with the Catholic faith". The organizations include Call to Action, Catholics for a Free Choice, Planned Parenthood, the Hemlock Society, the Freemasons, and the Society of St. Pius X. The Vatican later confirmed the excommunication of Call to Action members in November 2006.
• Emmanual Milingo, former archbishop of Lusaka, for consecrating four bishops without the papal mandate. Also excommunicated were those receiving consecration.
• The Community of the Lady of All Nations for heretical teachings and beliefs after a six-year investigation. The declaration was announced by the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops on September 12, 2007.
• Fr. Dale Fushek (also laicized by Pope Benedict XVI 02/2010) and Fr. Mark Dippre. Former Priests were issued a Decree of Excommunication by Bishop Thomas J. Olmsted for operating "an opposing ecclesial community" in direct disobedience to orders to refrain from public ministry.
• Fr. Marek Bozek (since laicized by Pope Benedict XVI), and the lay parish board members of St. Stanislaus Kostka Church in St. Louis, Missouri in December 2005 were declared guilty of the ecclesiastical crime of schism by then-Archbishop Raymond Leo Burke. Their excommunication was ratified by the Vatican in May 2008. Four of the parish board members have since reconciled with the Church.
• The Archbishop of Olinda and Recife in Brazil, Jose Cardoso Sobrinho, announced the automatic excommunication of the mother and doctors of a nine-year-old girl who had an abortion after being raped and impregnated by her stepfather, who was not excommunicated.
• Sr. Margaret McBride, a nun, for allowing an abortion. McBride later reconciled with the church and is no longer living in a state of excommunication.
• All the Catholics and legislators who promoted the abortion law in Uruguay.
• Fr. Roy Bourgeois (also laicized and dismissed from the Maryknoll Fathers) for participating in the ordination of a woman.
• Fr. Robert Marrone, by Bishop Richard Gerard Lennon of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Cleveland in Cleveland, Ohio for violating the terms of his leave of absence. Marrone set up a worshipping community (the Community of St. Peter's) in a vacant warehouse and outside of a Catholic building or church after St. Peter's Parish in Cleveland was closed (it has since been reopened), in defiance of the bishop .
• Fr. Roberto Francisco Daniel, known by local community as "Father Beto", by Bishop Caetano Ferrari, from Bauru, Brazil. Daniel was excommunicated because he refused a direct order from his bishop to apologize for or retract his statement that love was possible between people of the same sex. The priest also said a married person who chose to have an affair, heterosexual or otherwise, would not be unfaithful as long as that person's spouse allowed it.

See also

• List of excommunicated cardinals
• Shunning