Today in History—December 13: The Pope Who Quit to Live in a Cave

On this day in 1294, Pope Celestine V became the first pope to voluntarily resign the papacy—declaring that he’d rather…live in a cave.

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Born Pietro Angelerio in Sicily, in what is now southern Italy, to a peasant family, he joined the Benedictine monks, a fairly strict religious order, at age 17 before being ordained. Then he disappeared into mountaintop caves for decades, perfecting the hermit’s brutal routine: hair shirts, iron chains, and fasts broken only on Sundays.

When PopeNicholas IV died in 1292, the cardinals deadlocked for two years in choosing a successor, paralyzed by factional politics. Pietro, a respected holy man about 80 at the time, sent them a letter chastising the cardinals for their endless dithering. They ended the stalemate—by electing him.

He refused, allegedly fled, and tried to hide from the cardinals to avoid the job, but a crowd climbed the mountain to celebrate his election and blocked his escape. Cornered, he relented and assumed the miter on August 29, 1294.

As pope, Celestine lacked administrative skills; he couldn’t say no, sometimes granting the same office to three people. He even let King Charles II dictate church policy. At the king’s request, Celestine added 12 new cardinals, dramatically shifting the balance of power and unwittingly laying the groundwork for the Great Western Schism.

A five-month stint as pontiff was enough to convince Celestine that clerical duties and political dealings were not his calling.

Cardinal Benedetto Caetani drafted the constitution that allowed Celestine to resign and then became Pope Boniface VIII suspiciously quickly.

Celestine returned to his mountain, but Boniface had him arrested, fearing that he was still a political threat. Celestine tried to escape, but a storm prevented him from sailing away. He was imprisoned in a cell so narrow that it made his cave seem spacious, and he died 10 months later.

His remains were eventually laid to rest in the basilica in L’Aquila, though his silver coffin was stolen twice and his bones once (they were returned two days later). He was canonized in 1313, remembered for the papal crown he set down.