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Celestine V

Type Figure Region Europe Time 1215–1296 Also known as Peter of Morrone

Celestine V (1215-1296), born Peter of Morrone, an Abruzzo hermit monk, was elected pope in July 1294 and voluntarily abdicated that December, one of…

Timeline

  1. 1215–1294Mount Morrone · AbruzzoBorn to a peasant family near Isernia, he later lived in ascetic seclusion on Mount Morrone, founding the 'Morrone order' religious community, renowned in southern Italy for extreme asceticism and piety, attracting many followers and becoming a representative figure of late 13th-century popular piety movements.
  2. 1294L'Aquila · AbruzzoAfter a prolonged deadlock in the papal conclave, he was elected under his hermit name, taking the name Celestine V. Lacking curial administrative experience, after only about five months he was unable to handle curial personnel and political disputes, finally announcing his abdication on December 13, 1294, becoming a famous voluntary resignation case in church history.
  3. 1295–1296Ferentino · LazioAfter his abdication he was ordered imprisoned by his successor Boniface VIII in the Castle of Fumone, dying on May 19, 1296. Whether he was murdered has long been disputed, but he was canonized by Pope Francis in 2013, affirming his holy life and courage in abdicating.

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