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 Pope Celestine V Scott 1020 (1996) Despite serving as pope for only five months, the story of Pope Celestine V provides an interesting look back at a historic papal conclave, and the consequences of a decision made by this pope and saint. Pietro Angelerio, also known as Pietro del Morrone, was born in 1209/1210 in the county of Molise, on the Adriatic seacost north of Campania. He was the eleventh child of peasants Angelerio and Maria. He entered a Benedictine house as a teenager but felt called to a solitary life in the wild country of Abruzzi. He was ordained a priest in Rome, then located to what J.N..D. Kelly terms "the more inaccessible heights of Maiella to escape public curiosity". Maiella Massif is located in the Central Apennine Mountains, 40 km from the Adriatic Sea. Pietro attracted like-minded disciples, and he was allowed to build a church at the foot of Mt. Morrone in 1259. His group was incorporated as a Benedictine entity in 1263, to be known as the Celestines. Kelly writes that "his fame as an ascetic, miraculous healer, and monastic leader spread beyond the Abruzzi". In 1293, he relocated to a tiny grotto 637 meters up the mountain of Sant'Onofro to live the life of a holy hermit.  Heritage of Sant'Onofrio at Morrone From Wikimedia Commons, in the Public Domain Following Pope Nicholas IV’s death in 1292, the See of Saint Peter remained vacant for 27 months. Pietro Morrone wrote the embattled College of Cardinals, stating that divine retribution would follow if they did not soon agree upon a pope. The dean of the College of Cardinals then nominated Morrone to fill the vacancy, and this was supported by two-thirds of the cardinals. A delegation then trudged up Mt. Onofrio to notify the 85-year-old hermit of his election. Despite not wanting the position, he accepted and took the name Celestine V. His election ended what is the third-longest period of "sede vacante" (the time from the death of Pope Nicholas IV to the election of Pope Celestine V lasted from April 4, 1292 until July 5, 1294--2 years, 3 months). During the papal vacancy, the administration of the Church had fallen into confusion as well as intrigue among the princes and cardinals. One of Celestine's decrees allowed for the abdication of a pontiff, and he soon used this to renounce the papacy. He abdicated the papacy on December 13, 1294: a pontificate of only five months. He had wanted to return to his hermitage, but his successor, Pope Boniface VIII, feared Celestine could be installed as antipope. Celestine was imprisoned at the castle of Fumone, where he died on May 19, 1296. Historically, Celestine V set the precedent for the pope to voluntarily abdicate his position. No pope did this for over 700 years, until Pope Benedict XVI did so in 2013. When he visited Celestine’s tomb in 2009, Benedict XVI symbolically placed his stole on the saint’s glass casket at the earthquake-damaged Basilica of Santa Maria di Collemaggio in L'Aquila, Italy. The feast of Saint Pope Celestine V is celebrated on the anniversary of his death, May 19. REFERENCES: |
