History

Out With the Old?

Cardinals are supposed to retire at age 80, but popes are popes for life—except Celestine V.

Christian History August 8, 2008

Out With the Old?

By Elesha Coffman, assistant editor of CHRISTIAN HISTORY

Last Sunday, New York’s Cardinal John O’Connor celebrated his last Mass as leader of 2.4 million Catholics. The cardinal had just turned 80, which meant he was no longer eligible to vote for new popes and must be replaced. “Does anybody have a job for me?” he jokingly asked the crowd.

While it’s policy for aged cardinals to retire, suggesting the same of a pope can cause a real stir. A German bishop accidentally made headlines just a few weeks ago for reportedly calling on the elderly Pope John Paul II to step down. The bishop moved swiftly to smooth things over. After all, the last time a pope resigned was 1294, and the issue then was much more complicated (and dubious) than old age.

In the thirteenth century, the church and the papacy tended toward wealth, worldliness, and political power. A reforming faction, which included many monks and hermits, longed for a leader who would purify the church and thus, they believed, hasten the return of Christ. The division between the two camps was so deep that, when Pope Nicholas IV died in 1292, church officials took 27 months to select a replacement. They finally elected Peter of Marone, founder of the Hermits of St. Damian, hoping he would be a “Papa Angelicus”—an unworldly saint with power to transform the church.

Unfortunately, Peter (as Celestine V) was spectacularly ill-suited to be pope. Already 85 at his election, he had spent much of his life as a recluse in a mountain cave. When bishops fetched him for his new office, they discovered a pale, unkempt, unhealthy man who could barely understand what they wanted. Nonetheless, they brought him back to Aquila, Italy, where he was crowned before 2,000 people. He moved to a palace in Naples, but his ascetic habits remained: he build himself a wooden cell to hide in and often ate only crusts of bread.

Celestine had no idea how to handle the political and financial complexities of the papacy. But someone else did—Cardinal Benedetto Caetani, a proud, fierce man with a diplomatic career behind him. Caetani advised Celestine, and when, after six months, it was clear the pope couldn’t manage the job, Caetani answered his questions about the legality of stepping down and wrote his abdication speech. But he might have gone even farther: according to one story, Caetani inserted a reed into Celestine’s room and pretended to be a voice from heaven, saying it was God’s will that he resign. It’s more likely that Celestine recognized his hopeless situation and quit voluntarily, but it’s not unreasonable to suspect Caetani of treachery. Upon becoming Pope Boniface VIII, he tracked down his predecessor (who had returned to his life as a hermit) and imprisoned him until his death at age 90.

Boniface quickly collected power and privilege for himself. He even enlarged the traditional papal tiara, to further proclaim his authority, and declared in the bull Unam Sanctam, “It is altogether necessary for salvation for every human creature to be subject to the Roman Pontiff.” Not surprisingly, this position earned him many enemies—including his contemporary, the poet Dante Alighieri. Dante’s struggle with church leaders came to head this week nearly 700 years ago, when he was falsely accused of corruption. During his subsequent exile, he exacted literary revenge.

In Canto 19 of the Inferno, Dante speaks to a man trapped upside down in a mock baptismal. “Art here already, Boniface?” the poet asks. “Hast thou tired so soon of that dear wealth which was the tempting boon for which thou didst the Bride of Christ betray?” Celestine also appears in the Inferno (Canto 3) for his “great refusal” of the crown, but he’s only in the first circle of hell. Even so, it’s probably a harsher sentence than he deserved; his solitary prayers must have been more beneficial for himself and the church than his administration.

* A 1928 translation of the Inferno can be found at:

http://sophia.smith.edu/~lkleinbe/dante

Elesha can be reached at cheditor@ChristianityToday.com.

Copyright © 2000 by the author or Christianity Today/Christian History magazine.Click here for reprint information on Christian History.

Our Latest

The Bulletin

Praying for Time

Hosts and guests discuss Gen Z in the workplace, Israeli hostages, and astronauts stuck in space.

Wire Story

China Ends International Adoptions, Leaving Hundreds of Cases in Limbo

The decision shocked dozens of evangelical families in the US who had been in the process since before the pandemic.

Wire Story

Bangladeshi Christians and Hindus Advocate for a Secular Country

As political changes loom and minority communities face violence, religious minorities urge the government to remove Islam as the state religion.

Public School Can Be a Training Ground for Faith

My daughter will wrestle with worldliness in her education, just as I did. That’s why I want to be around to help.

Boomers: Serve Like Your Whole Life Is Ahead of You

What will our generation do with the increased life expectancy God has blessed us with?

Review

Take Me Out to Something Bigger Than a Ballgame

American stadiums have always played host both to major sports and to larger social aspirations.

How to Find Common Ground When You Disagree About the Common Good

Interfaith engagement that doesn’t devolve into a soupy multiculturalism is difficult—and necessary in our diverse democracy.

Wire Story

Evangelical Broadcasters Sue Over IRS Ban on Political Endorsements

Now that some nonprofit newspapers have begun to back candidates, a new lawsuit asks why Christian charities can’t take sides.

Apple PodcastsDown ArrowDown ArrowDown Arrowarrow_left_altLeft ArrowLeft ArrowRight ArrowRight ArrowRight Arrowarrow_up_altUp ArrowUp ArrowAvailable at Amazoncaret-downCloseCloseEmailEmailExpandExpandExternalExternalFacebookfacebook-squareGiftGiftGooglegoogleGoogle KeephamburgerInstagraminstagram-squareLinkLinklinkedin-squareListenListenListenChristianity TodayCT Creative Studio Logologo_orgMegaphoneMenuMenupausePinterestPlayPlayPocketPodcastRSSRSSSaveSaveSaveSearchSearchsearchSpotifyStitcherTelegramTable of ContentsTable of Contentstwitter-squareWhatsAppXYouTubeYouTube