A Bad Pope, but a Saint of God

Peter di Morone was a hermit, who craved solitude, but when like-minded souls gathered around him, and persistently asked for his guidance, he eventually became head of a community of hermits living in a monastery. He remained committed to a life of prayer and penance, and his sanctity became well-known, so that when the Church had been without a pope for two years, and he reminded the cardinals of their duty, they unanimously selected him. He declined and tried to flee, was caught, and yielded, becoming Pope Celestine V. The new pope was not the sort to insist on his own will over others' desires, a virtue which became a problem when his pontificate proved to be one of shifting, muddled decisions. He lacked the knowledge he needed for the decisions he was called on to make, was vulnerable to the manipulation of others, and soon made a mess of things. After a reign of five short months, he became the only pope to resign because he thought he was not up to the job (a very few resigned for other reasons).

The great Italian poet Dante Alighieri thought Celestine V doomed to hell, because he neglected his sacred duties (Inferno iii, 58-61), but in this he was mistaken, for one thing alone is necessary (Luke 10:42), and although he did not fulfill his duties as pope, Saint Celestine had that one thing: union with God.

http://www.ewtn.com/library/mary/celestin.htm

http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/03479b.htm

http://rorate-caeli.blogspot.com/2011/05/may-19-what-pope-with-lousy-pontificate.html

Sancte Petre Celestine, ora pro nobis