The Pope Who Quit

Born of humble birth in an Italian village, Peter Morrone spent much of his life as a hermit monk who inspired many followers. He was improbably elected pope, as Celestine V, in 1294 and reigned for five tumultuous months before becoming the first and only pope to abdicate. His reign was spent outside of Rome, and his poorly judged actions alienated many cardinals. After his resignation, he was imprisoned by his papal successor, Boniface VIII. Sweeney posits that Celestine may have been murdered on Boniface's order, but the author's prose style lacks a dramatic power equal to the events being narrated. Nonetheless, he draws a relatively well-rounded portrait of the pope, including contextual details of medieval cultural, political, and religious life likely to be unknown to the lay reader to whom this book is aimed.