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| CELESTINO V ------> |
The History |
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Celestino
V He was already a famous character and well loved at the end of the XIII century, a hermit whose way of life was well respected.. Thanks to the creation of the Celestine order (He had asked and obtained this from the Second Council of Lione in 1275 from Pope Gregorio X) and his solitary life in a cell in the Maella mountains above Sulmona, but also for the many miracles performed and healing powers he had he was considered a Saint well before his death.
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Papa Celestino V
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When
Nicolò IV died (4th April 1292) the election for the new Pope gave no
immediate successor and the seat remain vacant for a long time with names
of Cardianls from the powerful Roman families the Colonna and the Orsini.
Finally two years later in Perugia the election named Pietro di Morrone
who took the name of Celestine V and he was declared Pope 29th August 1294
in Aquila. The church was in bad need of an ‘angelic pastor’ so hermit
Pietro di Morrone was chosen for his pure evangelical qualities. (5th July
1294) in a conclave rich with commotion that finally found the inspiration.
The
brief pontiff is a well known story and the pure spirit of the hermit Pope
didn’t go down too well with the corrupt and forever arguing Curia who
didn’t hesitate to let him know if they didn’t like any of his
decisions. Much to their disgust Celestine moved the Papal seat from Rome
to Naples to the Court of King Carlo d’Angio and also created 13 new
Cardinals himself. Shy and timid, Celestine many times found himself in an
awkward position. So the idea to abdicate often crossed his mind. He
consulted theologists and judges who advised him to make a
‘concistoro’ and on the 13th December he read out this act of
abdication. On the 24th December Pope Benedetto Caetani was elected
Boniface VIII from that moment on Celestine was confined to hiding and he
was chased until they found him in Vieste embarking in a tiny boat bound
for Dalmatia taken back to Boniface XIII and after a short stay in Anagni,
he was accompanied by six horsemen and thirty soldiers to the Rock of
Fumone. 19th May
1296 the Holy Pope died in Fumone after ten months of imprisonment.
His cell (today looked after the Marchese Longhi de Paolis family)
is visited by thousands of followers each year and was so small that he
had to sleep with his head on the same spot that he celebrated mass. When
he died a pre-announced miracle happened. A cross appeared over the
door to his cell where he had been locked up for all those months. Many
eye witnesses were called upon for the canonisation of Pope Celestine V
ordered by Clemente V in 1313 amongst which Riccardo di Bellegra (his
servant during his imprisonment) Nicolò Verticello(Canonic of Naples) and
two horsemen who held his custody Gregorio e Landolfo di Rinaldo di Selva
Molle. They were both horsemen from Ferentino and signori from the Castle
of Frosinione now named “Selva dei Muli” His body was entrusted to
Cardinal Guglielmo Longhi who had him buried in the church S. Antonio in
Ferentino. In 1327 the Celestine cult stole his body and took it to the
Abbazia di Collemaggio years before built by Celestine in Aquila where it
can be found today. He was proclaimed Saint in 1313 by Clemente V and in
1668 Clemente X allowed the cult to be part of the Universal Church.
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