Celestine V resigns the papacy
1294
An aged hermit reluctantly elevated to the throne of Peter found the politics of Rome unbearable. After five months he read a statement of resignation, the first ever by a pope, and returned to his cave. His successor Boniface VIII promptly imprisoned him to be safe. Dante placed Celestine in the vestibule of Hell for making the great refusal, a judgment that has divided commentators ever since.
In context
Also in 1294 (3 other events on record)
- Kublai Khan dies at Dadu · East Asia · Politics
- Boniface VIII elected after Celestine's resignation · Europe · Religion
- Japanese Kamakura shogunate under financial strain · East Asia · Politics
Before and after in Europe
Before and after in Religion
Era
High Middle Ages (1000–1300), one of 1,306 events from that era on Saeculum.
Sources