Celestine V (pope)
1215 – 1296 Italian Pope (1294)
Hermit monk who became pope, then resigned after five months.
- Religion
- Catholic; Bishop of Rome
- Affiliations
- The papacy; Benedictine hermit
Celestine V was an elderly hermit dragged from his mountain cave to end a long deadlock in the papal election. Overwhelmed by the office, he resigned after about five months, the first pope to clearly do so, and issued a decree confirming a pope's right to quit. His successor Boniface VIII locked him up, where he died. Dante is often thought to have placed him in Hell for the great refusal.