Pope Celestine V abdicated on this day 718 years ago. Pietro Angelerio, also known as Pietro di Morrone, was born in or about 1215, and became a Benedictine monk at the age of 17, spending the majority of his life practising asceticism and solitude as a hermit. After the death of Pope Nicholas IV, Pietro sent the cardinals a message from God warning them to elect a new pope quickly. Much to his consternation, they immediately elected him.
Pietro, who took the title Pope Celestine V, tried to run away, but was eventually persuaded to accept the papacy. He reigned very poorly for several months, demonstrating his extensive lack of leadership and political skills, before issuing a papal bull giving the Pope the right to abdicate the papacy, an edict of which he promptly took advantage. He abdicated on 13th December 1294, hoping to return to his old solitude.
However, the merely incompetent pope was succeeded by a positively evil one. Benedetto Caetani became Pope Boniface VIII, and he captured and imprisoned Pietro, who died in captivity – possibly murdered – less than 18 months after his abdication. Pope Boniface VIII became known for his claims to temporal supremacy and his sales of indulgences. He features in Dante’s Inferno, undergoing punishment in hell for simony.