After Clement's death in October , Benedict returns to Rome and installed himself as pope one more time. For eight months he remained on the papal throne until Henry drove him out and replaced him with Damasus II.
After this, Benedict's fate is uncertain; he may have lived another decade or so, and it is possible he entered the monastery of Grottaferrata. No, seriously. In the late 13th century, the papacy was plagued by corruption and financial problems; and two years after the death of Nicholas IV, a new pope still hadn't been nominated.
Finally, in July of , a pious hermit by the name of Pietro da Morrone was elected in the hopes that he could lead the papacy back to the right path.
Pietro, who was close to 80 years old and longed only for solitude, was not happy to be chosen; he only agreed to occupy the papal chair because it had been vacant for so long. Taking the name Celestine V, the devout monk attempted to institute reforms. But though Celestine is almost universally considered a saintly man, he was no administrator.
After struggling with the problems of papal government for several months, he, at last, decided it would be best if a man more suited to the task took over. Ironically, Celestine's wise decision did him no good. Because some did not think his abdication was lawful, he was prevented from returning to his monastery, and he died sequestered in Fumone Castle in November of At the end of the 14th century, one of the strangest events ever to involve the Catholic Church took place.
In the process of bringing about an end to the Avignon Papacy , a faction of cardinals refused to accept the new pope in Rome and elected a pope of their own, who set up back in Avignon. The situation of two popes and two papal administrations, known as the Western Schism, would last for decades. Although all concerned wanted to see an end to the schism, neither faction was willing to allow their pope to resign and let the other take over.
But although the negotiations that proceeded between Gregory and Benedict looked hopeful at first, the situation rapidly degenerated into one of mutual distrust, and nothing happened -- for more than two years.
Filled with concern over the lingering break, cardinals from both Avignon and Rome were moved to do something. In July , they met at a council in Pisa to negotiate an end to the schism. Their solution was to depose both Gregory and Benedict and to elect a new pope: Alexander V. However, neither Gregory nor Benedict would acquiesce to this plan.
Now there were three popes. Alexander, who was about 70 years old at the time of his election, lasted only 10 months before passing away under mysterious circumstances. For four more years, the three popes remained deadlocked. After months of discussion and some very complicated voting procedures, the council deposed John, condemned Benedict, and accepted Gregory's resignation.
With all three popes out of office, the way was clear for the Cardinals to elect one pope, and one pope only: Martin V.
Elected: April 19, Resigned: February 28, Unlike the drama and the stress of the medieval popes, Benedict XVI resigned for a very straightforward reason: his health was frail. In the past, a pope would hang onto his position until he drew his last breath; and this wasn't always a good thing. Benedict's decision seems rational, even wise. And though it struck many observers, Catholic and non-Catholic alike, as a surprise, most people see the logic and support Benedict's decision.
Who knows? Perhaps, unlike most of his medieval predecessors, Benedict will survive more than a year or two after giving up the papal chair. Actively scan device characteristics for identification. Use precise geolocation data. Select personalised content. As candidate after candidate failed to garner the votes needed for election, uncertainty and unrest spread throughout Rome. Finally, in , the group received a letter from an elderly monk, who had spent most of the last 60 years living in seclusion in central Italy.
The monk Pietro warned the cardinals of an angry retribution from God if they did not quickly find a new pope. Whether it was fear or frustration with the lack of other viable candidates, the cardinals took this message to heart and promptly chose Pietro himself as the new pope. The year-old Pietro tried to refuse the appointment, but finally gave in and was crowned Celestine V.
Faced with the worldliness and ruthlessness of Vatican politics at the time, Celestine came to regret accepting the position, and one of the first edicts he issued confirmed the right of the pope to abdicate. Within weeks of issuing the decree, Celestine resigned, stating his desire to return to his humble, pre-papal life. He had been pope for just five months, but was canonized in A century earlier, the papacy had been moved from Rome to Avignon, France by the newly elected, French-born pope Clement V.
For more than 60 years, seven popes ruled from France before the papacy was finally returned to Rome by Gregory XI in When Gregory died two years later, the conclave of cardinals was pressured into selecting an Italian as his successor, ultimately selecting Bartolomeo Prignano, who was crowned Urban VI.
Speaking to Spanish radio network COPE, Francis, 84, dismissed an Italian newspaper report that he might step down, saying: "I don't know where they got it from last week that I was going to resign He also said he was almost certain to attend the U. In the interview, the pope thanked a male nurse at the Vatican for convincing him to undergo surgery to remove part of his colon rather than continuing treatment with antibiotics and other medicines, as some doctors had favoured. Francis, who was elected pontiff in , underwent surgery on July 4 and spent 11 days in hospital.
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