Pope Celestine V
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Boniface VIII | |
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Orders | |
Consecration | 19 August 1294 by Hugh Aycelin |
Personal details | |
Born | Pietro Angelerio 1215 Near Isernia, Kingdom of Sicily |
Died | 19 May 1296 Ferentino, Papal States | (aged 80–81)
Previous post(s) |
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Coat of arms | |
Other popes named Celestine |
Pope Celestine V (
He was elected
Celestine was canonized on 5 May 1313 by Pope Clement V. No subsequent pope has taken the name Celestine.
Early life
Pietro Angelerio was born to parents Angelo Angelerio and Maria Leone in a town called Sant'Angelo Limosano, in the
]After his father's death he began working in the fields. His mother Maria was a key figure in Pietro's spiritual development: she imagined a different future for her deeply beloved son than becoming just a
Founding of the Celestines
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While living like this, in 1244, he founded the order subsequently named after him, the
As soon as he had seen his new order thus consolidated he gave up the government of it to a certain Robert, and retired once again to a still more remote solitude to give himself up more entirely to solitary penance and prayer. Shortly afterwards, in a chapter of the order held in 1293, the original monastery of
Election as pope
The cardinals assembled at Perugia after the death of Pope Nicholas IV in April 1292. After more than two years, a consensus had still not been reached. Pietro, well known to the cardinals as a Benedictine hermit, sent the cardinals a letter warning them that divine vengeance would fall upon them if they did not quickly elect a pope. Latino Malabranca, the aged and ill Dean of the College of Cardinals cried out, "In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, I elect brother Pietro di Morrone!" The cardinals promptly ratified Malabranca's desperate decision. When sent for, Pietro obstinately refused to accept the papacy, and even, as Petrarch says, tried to flee, until he was finally persuaded by a deputation of cardinals accompanied by the king of Naples and the pretender to the throne of Hungary. Elected on 5 July 1294,[4] at age 79, he was crowned at Santa Maria di Collemaggio in the city of Aquila in the Abruzzo on 29 August, taking the name Celestine V.[5]
Papacy
Shortly after assuming office, Celestine issued a papal bull granting a rare
With no political experience, Celestine proved to be an especially weak and ineffectual pope.
Realizing his lack of authority and personal incompatibility with papal duties, he consulted with Cardinal Benedetto Caetani (his eventual successor) about the possibility of resignation.[9] This resulted in one final decree declaring the right of resignation. He promptly exercised this right, resigning on 13 December 1294, after five months and eight days as pope.[10] In the formal instrument of renunciation, he recited as the causes moving him to the step: "The desire for humility, for a purer life, for a stainless conscience, the deficiencies of his own physical strength, his ignorance, the perverseness of the people, his longing for the tranquility of his former life".[11] Having divested himself of every outward symbol of papal dignity, he slipped away from Naples and attempted to retire to his old life of solitude.[citation needed]
The next pope to resign of his own accord was Gregory XII in 1415 (to help end the Western Schism), followed by Benedict XVI in 2013, 719 years later.[12][13]
Retirement, death, and canonization
The former Celestine, now reverted to Pietro Angelerio, was not allowed to become a hermit once again. Various parties had opposed his resignation and the new Pope Boniface VIII had reason to worry that one of them might install him as an antipope. To prevent this he ordered Pietro to accompany him to Rome. Pietro escaped and hid in the woods before attempting to return to Sulmona to resume monastic life. This proved impossible, and Pietro was captured after an attempt to flee to Dalmatia was thwarted when a tempest forced his ship to return to port. Boniface imprisoned him in the castle of Fumone near Ferentino in Lazio, attended by two monks of his order, where Pietro died after 10 months at about the age of 81. His supporters spread the allegation that Boniface had treated him harshly and ultimately executed Pietro, but there is no clear historical evidence of this.[14] Pietro was buried at Ferentino, but his body was subsequently moved to the Basilica of Santa Maria di Collemaggio in L'Aquila.
Legacy
Most modern interest in Celestine V has focused on his resignation.
A 1966 visit by Pope Paul VI to Celestine's place of death in Ferentino along with his speech in homage of Celestine prompted speculation that the Pontiff was considering retirement.[19][20]
Celestine's remains survived the 2009 L'Aquila earthquake with one Italian spokesman saying it was "another great miracle by the pope".[21] They were then recovered from the basilica shortly after the earthquake.[22] While inspecting the earthquake damage during a 28 April 2009 visit to the Aquila, Pope Benedict XVI visited Celestine's remains in the badly damaged Santa Maria di Collemaggio and left the woolen pallium he wore during his papal inauguration in April 2005 on his glass casket as a gift.[23][24] Benedict XVI would go on to become the first pope since Celestine to voluntarily resign of his own initiative.[25]
To mark the 800th anniversary of Celestine's birth, Pope Benedict XVI proclaimed the Celestine year from 28 August 2009 through 29 August 2010.[26] Benedict XVI visited the Sulmona Cathedral, near Aquila, on 4 July 2010[27] as part of his observance of the Celestine year and prayed before the altar consecrated by Celestine containing his relics on 10 October 1294.[28]
His entry in the
Ad Castrum Fumorense prop Alatrium in Latio, natalis sancti Petri Caelestini, qui, cum vitam eremeticam in Aprutio ageret, fama sanctitatis et miraculorum clarus, octogenarius Romanus Pontifex electus est, assumpto nomine Caelestini Quinti, sed eodem anno munere se abdicavit et solitudinem recedere maluit.
At Castrum Fumorense near Alatri in Lazio, the birth of Saint Peter Celestine, who, when leading the life of a hermit in Abruzzo, being famous for his sanctity and miracles, was elected Roman Pontiff as an octogenarian, assumed the name Celestine V, but abandoned his office that same year and preferred to return to solitude.
In literature
A persistent tradition identifies Celestine V as the nameless figure Dante Alighieri sees among those in the antechamber of Hell, in the enigmatic verses:
vidi e conobbi l'ombra di colui
che fece per viltade il gran rifiuto.
("I saw and recognized the shade of him
who due to cowardice made the great refusal.")— Inferno III, 59–60
The first commentators to make this identification included Dante's son Jacopo Alighieri,[29] followed by Graziolo Bambaglioli in 1324. The identification is also considered probable by recent scholars (e.g., Hollander, Barbara Reynolds, Simonelli, Padoan). Petrarch was moved to defend Celestine vigorously against the accusation of cowardice and some modern scholars (e.g., Mark Musa) have suggested Dante may have meant someone else (Esau, Diocletian and Pontius Pilate have been variously suggested).
In 1346, Petrarch declared in his De vita solitaria that Celestine's refusal was a virtuous example of solitary life.[30]
Pope Celestine V is referenced in Chapter 88 of
The life of Pope Celestine V is dramatised in the plays L'avventura di un povero cristiano (Story of a Humble Christian) by Ignazio Silone in 1968 and Sunsets and Glories by Peter Barnes in 1990.
His life is the subject of the short story "Brother of the Holy Ghost" in Brendan Connell's short story collection The Life of Polycrates and Other Stories for Antiquated Children.[33]
Celestine V is the subject of Stefania Del Monte's book Celestino V. Papa Templare o Povero Cristiano?, published in 2009 and translated into English under the title The Story and Legacy of Celestine V in 2010.[34]
He is the subject of a popular history by author Jon M. Sweeney, The Pope Who Quit: A True Medieval Tale of Mystery, Death, and Salvation, published by Image Books/Random House in 2012.[35] In 2013, HBO optioned the film rights.[36]
Celestine V is the subject of the poem Che Fece...Il Gran Rifiuto by the modern Greek poet Constantine P. Cavafy.[37][38]
See also
References
- ^ Loughlin, JF (1908). "Pope St. Celestine V". . Vol. 3. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
- ISBN 9780198269076. Retrieved 1 June 2023 – via Scribd.)
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: date and year (link - ISBN 978-0-19-929581-4. Retrieved 1 June 2023 – via Oxford Reference.
- ^ Jeffrey H. Denton (2002). Robert Winchelsey and the Crown 1294–1313, Vol. 14, Cambridge University Press, p. 66.
- ^ James Loughlin (1908). "Pope St. Celestine V", The Catholic Encyclopedia, Vol. 3. New York: Robert Appleton Company http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/03479b.htm
- ^ Pope John Paul II (23 August 2001). "Address of John Paul II to the Jury Members of the 'Premio Internazionale Perdonanza'". Retrieved 19 May 2011.
- ^ Abruzzo World Club (Summer 2002). "The Perdonanza". Abruzzo Heritage. Archived from the original on 26 August 2009.
- ^ Clement V's bull of canonization noted his "marvelous simplicity and inexperience[] in everything belonging to the rule of the Church" Wood, Charles T. Joan of Arc and Richard III: Sex, Saints, and Government in the Middle Ages. Oxford University Press, 1991, 100.
- ^ a b McBrien, Richard P. (2000). Lives of the Popes
- ^ "Papal Resignations"', Olivier Guyotjeannin, The Papacy: An Encyclopedia, Vol. 3, ed. Philippe Levillain, (Taylor & Francis, 2002), 1305.
- ^ Walker, Jesse (11 February 2013) The Ones Who Walk Away From the Holy See, Reason
- ^ Alpert, Emily (11 February 2013). "Scandal, speculation surround past popes who resigned". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 1 April 2019.
- ^ de Souza, Raymond J. (12 February 2013). "The Holy Father takes his leave". National Post. Archived from the original on 11 April 2013.
- ^ Gregorovius, Ferdinand (1906). History of the City of Rome in the Middle Ages vol. 5 part 2
- ^ "Nolite timere', il film su San Pietro Celestino all'auditorium". Isernia News. 2 July 2015. Archived from the original on 13 July 2015. Retrieved 3 July 2015.
- ^ Ronald C. Finucane (2011). Contested Canonizations: The Last Medieval Saints, 1482–1523. Catholic University of America Press, p. 19.
- ^ Johnston, Bruce; Jonathan Petre (8 February 2005). "Cardinal hints that ailing Pope may resign". The Telegraph. London.
- ^ "A History of Papal Resignations". History.com. 11 February 2013. Retrieved 25 June 2013.
- ^ Cf. Pope Paul VI's speech of 1 September 1966
- ^ "Roman Catholicism: Retirement for 200 Bishops". Time Magazine. 30 September 1966. Archived from the original on 20 February 2008. Retrieved 19 May 2011.
- ^ "Pope's bones survive earthquake". United Press International. 9 April 2009. Retrieved 19 May 2011.
- ^ Kington, Tom (14 April 2009). "Italy earthquake focus shifts to saving Abruzzo's heritage". The Guardian. Retrieved 19 May 2011.
- ^ Owen, Richard (28 April 2009). "Pope Benedict XVI visits Abruzzo earthquake zone to pray for victims". The Times. Retrieved 19 May 2011.
- ^ Donadio, Rachel (28 April 2009). "Pope visits devastated earthquake zone". The New York Times. Retrieved 25 February 2013.
- The National Post. Retrieved 12 February 2013.
- ^ "Homily of Card. Tarcisio Bertone for the opening of the Holy Door on the occasion of the Feast of Celestinian Forgiveness and the beginning of the Celestinian Year" (in Italian). The Roman Curia. 28 August 2009. Retrieved 19 May 2011.
- ^ "Benedict Praised courage of Celestine V, another Pope who resigned". Rome Reports. 12 February 2013. Archived from the original on 17 February 2013. Retrieved 25 February 2013.
- ^ "Pastoral Visit to Sulmona". The Roman Curia. 4 July 2010. Retrieved 15 February 2013.
- ^ Alighieri, Jacopo (1848). Chiose alla cantica dell'Inferno (in Italian). Florence: Tipografica di Tommaso Baracchi. p. 12.
- ^ Petrarca, Francesco (1879). De vita Solitaria (in Italian). Bologna: Gaetano Romagnoli.
De vita Solitaria petrarch.
- ^ Brown, Dan. Angels & Demons. Pocket Star Books, 2000, p. 352.
- ^ Ferdinand Gregorovius (1906) History of the City of Rome in the Middle Ages, vol. 5 part 2.
- ISBN 978-1907681042.
- ^ "Stefania Del Monte". stefaniadelmonte.com. Retrieved 24 June 2015.[permanent dead link]
- ISBN 978-0385531894.
- ^ Sweeney, Jon M. (15 February 2013). "Predicting the Pope Would Quit". HuffPost.
- ^ "Che Fece ... Il Gran Rifiuto". All Poetry. Retrieved 12 June 2023.
- ^ "C. P. Cavafy". Poetry Foundation. Retrieved 12 June 2023.
External links
- Media related to Pope Celestine V at Wikimedia Commons
- Catholic Encyclopedia. 1913. .