The pope's telltale skull ...

Father Pietro (1215-1296) lived as a cave-cloistered hermit in the Italian mountains, praying and fasting in quiet devotion. Pilgrims climbed the cliffs to seek the Benedictine's counsel, but he always said the same sentence.

“The world is loud. God is not.”

Then, Pope Nicholas IV died of natural causes. For 2 years, the conclave could not agree on his replacement. Then, the cardinals remembered the 80-year-old mountain mystic and climbed to his cave. When the hermit saw the red robes, he whispered.

“Lord, hide me.” But the Lord did not.

Fr Pietro begged to remain a hermit. They insisted he come be their pope. And so the Church received Pope Celestine V, a man who wanted silence and solitude. Pope Celestine V tried to rule like a hermit, through:

Ascetical fasting that frightened the papal cooks
Floor-sleeping
Open-door audiences
Keeping the peace — signing all documents without reading them, trusting all clerks

Cardinals panicked. Nobles schemed. Rome whispered.

“I am a fish on a mountain,” St Celestine openly stated. After 5 months, St Celestine realized he was harming the church. So, he wrote a decree allowing popes to resign. Then he stood before the cardinals and announced thusly.

“I resign the papacy, for the sake of my soul, and yours.”

One cardinal sat. Another crossed himself. St Celestine walked away with relief. By resigning, Celestine created a vacuum. When Boniface VIII filled it, he brought ambition. The damage was twofold. Celestine’s supporters refused to accept Boniface VIII, who was not a saint. He feared St Celestine might return or become a rival "anointed" pope. He had the octogenarian pope locked in the tower.

God did not intervene. St Celestine did not complain. He prayed. He sang psalms. He told the guards stories about his window-visiting birds. When asked if he regretted resigning, he smiled.

“I have lost nothing, but trouble.”

Ten months later, he died in captivity. When his body was exhumed later, a mysterious hole was found in his skull: a clean-edged puncture wound. Some whispered murder. Some whispered martyrdom. Some whispered Boniface. But forensics suggest the hole could have been post-mortem. But why? Even in death, Celestine was surrounded by noise he never wanted.

To speculate, what was God's plan for the life of Fr. Pietro? Maybe God wanted ...

Not a strategist, but a saint to emphasize holiness over competence
His Petrine seat to be a cross NOT a throne awarded in a popularity contest and
to teach the cardinals a lesson—after two years of political deadlock.
To use a hermit to expose the noise, ambition, politics and maneuvering that was sidetracking His Church.
A pope who would resign, so the Church could see how even the highest office, can be laid down in humility.

While Fr. Pietro’s papacy was fragile, his soul was steady. He came from the ranks of obedient men that God used for good.

Moses, who stuttered
Jeremiah, who claimed he was too young
Gideon, who said his army was too weak
Peter, who said he was too sinful

Perhaps Fr Pietro was chosen not because he could rule, but because he could not. God loves when the humble admit we are not worthy. Holiness matters more than power, which God will provide in our weakness. In this case, God did not provide. Sometimes the loudest sermon is preached by a man who walks away. In the end, St Celestine was not weak. He knew his limits and refused to harm the Bride of Christ. The bookish St Pope Celestine V was canonized in 1313 by Pope Clement V, and venerated as the patron saint of bookbinders. He is buried in the Basilica of Santa Maria di Colle Maggio in L’Aquila, Italy. His feast is May 19.

Saint of the silent stone, guide us to God alone.

Hermit of mountain air, teach us the strength of prayer.

Pope of humblest heart, show us the lighter part — how laying burdens down, can be our truest crown.

St Celestine, pray for us today. Lead us on your quiet way.

Amen.

Sources

Benedict XVI. 2009. General Audience: Pope Celestine V. Libreria Editrice Vaticana.

Catholic Encyclopedia. 1908. Pope St. Celestine V. Robert Appleton Company.

Del Re, N. 1998. The Popes: Histories and Secrets.

Gracewing, FC. 2001. A Distant City: Images of Urban Experience in the Medieval World. Princeton University Press.

Vatican News. 2013. Celestine V: The Humble Pope Who Resigned. Libreria Editrice Vaticana.