On this day in 1294, Pope St. Celestine V made the unprecedented decision to abdicate from the papacy, marking the end of one of the strangest episodes in the Church’s history.
The Humble Beginnings of Peter of Morrone
Born in 1215 as Peter Angelerio, Celestine hailed from a small town in the rugged mountains of central Italy, approximately 110 miles east of Rome. Drawn to an ascetic and solitary life from a young age, he became known as Peter of Morrone, a name derived from the mountains where he lived as a hermit. His devout life and piety attracted followers, leading to the establishment of a monastic community adhering to the Rule of St. Benedict, but with greater emphasis on solitude and penance. This order, later known as the Celestines, thrived and expanded rapidly under his influence. However, Peter himself withdrew from its governance as soon as possible, preferring solitude.
The Prolonged Sede Vacante and an Unlikely Election
The death of Pope Nicholas IV in April 1292 left the Church without a pope for an unprecedented 26 months. Political factionalism and civil disturbances prolonged the deadlock among the cardinals, reducing the conclave in Perugia to only six members by the summer of 1294.
From his secluded retreat, Peter of Morrone wrote a letter to the cardinals, urging them to resolve the impasse and elect a pope promptly. His rebuke inspired the college to propose him as pope, despite his advanced age and lack of administrative experience. After much persuasion, he reluctantly accepted, taking the name Celestine V. He was crowned in the basilica of Santa Maria di Collemaggio in L’Aquila, where his remains now rest.
The Abdication of Pope Celestine V
Unprepared for the demands of the papacy, Celestine struggled under the weight of administrative duties and became a pawn of the political interests of the King of Naples. Filled with regret and yearning for his monastic life, he convened a consistory and, on December 13, 1294, formally abdicated.
His successor, Card. Benedetto Caietani, who took the papal name Boniface VIII, was chosen because he was known to be an extremely effectively administrator and very well-versed in canon law; in other words, just the man to clean up the terrible mess created by Celestine. Finding the registers of his predecessor’s acts to be in a state of irremediable chaos, he simply had them destroyed, and for this reason, the ipsissima verba of Celestine’s abdication speech are lost to us. Its substance, however, is preserved in a decree by Pope Boniface VIII in the Liber Sextus Decretalium. The decree begins with this remarkable passage, which shows very nicely how well the study of Latin was cultivated in the high Middle Ages:
“Quoniam aliqui curiosi disceptantes de iis que non multum expediunt, et plura sapere quam oporteat contra doctrinam apostoli temere appetentes, in dubitationem solicitam, an Romanus Pontifex, maxime cum se insufficientem agnoscit ad regendam universalem ecclesiam et summi pontificatus onera supportanda, renunciare valeat papatui ejusque oneri et honori, deducere minus provide videbantur: Cælestinus papa quintus predecessor noster, dum ejusdem ecclesie regimini presidebat, volens super hoc hesitationis cujuslibet materiam amputare, deliberatione habita cum suis fratribus ecclesie Romane cardinalibus (de quorum numero tunc eramus) de nostro et ipsorum omnium concordi consilio et assensu, authoritate apostolica statuit et decrevit, Romanum pontificem posse libere resignare.”
“Since some men in their curiosity, disputing about matters which are not very useful, and boldly seeking to know more than they ought, against the teaching of the Apostle (Rom. 12, 3), seemed to be imprudently calling into troublesome doubt whether the Roman Pontiff, especially when he recognizes himself to be inadequate to govern the universal Church, and bear the responsibilities of the supreme pontificate, can renounce the papacy and its responsibility and honor: Pope Celestine V, our predecessor, while he presided over the rule of that same Church, wishing to remove grounds for any hesitation concerning this matter, having consulted with his brothers, the cardinals of the Roman Church, among whose number we then were, following the agreed council and consent of ourselves and all of them, established and decreed by Apostolic authority that the Roman pontiff can freely resign.”
This passage establishes that a pope has the right to resign, a principle now enshrined in canon law.
A Legacy of Holiness and Humility
Pope St. Celestine V’s life remains a testament to humility and devotion. His papacy was brief and fraught with challenges, and his abdication paved the way for future pontiffs to step down if unable to fulfill their duties. His successor, Boniface VIII, took on the formidable task of stabilizing the Church, but Celestine’s legacy endures as a model of simplicity and holiness.
