Celestine V
13th‑century Italian hermit and founder of the Celestines, Catholic saint, first pope to resign
Feast: 19 May (1962 Missal, III class) · not on the current Roman calendar
Who they were
Pietro Angelerio was born in 1215 at Isernia, next to last of twelve children of a farming family, and was sent by his widowed mother to study for the Church. He became a Benedictine and a priest at 24, then a hermit on Mount Morrone in the Abruzzo, living in prayer, penance and fasting. Disciples gathered, and the Hermits of the Maiella - later the Celestines - were approved by Urban IV.
After 27 months without a Pope, in 1294 the deadlocked cardinals elected the famous hermit. He resigned a few months later. His successor had him confined in the castle of Fumone, where he died in prayer in a narrow cell on 19 May 1296.
The miracles
His relics are in the basilica of Collemaggio at L'Aquila, where Benedict XVI left his pallium in 2009. The miracles examined for his canonisation are not described in the sources we have used.
Why that counted as sanctity
Remembered by Dante for his 'great refusal', Celestine is for the Church an example of Gospel freedom: a man of prayer who preferred God to power.
- Vatican News - Saint of the day (Italian): Pope Celestine V
- Wikidata Q118081 — dates, feast day and identifiers (CC0)
- English Wikipedia — Pope Celestine V (CC BY-SA)
Checked against the sources listed on 21 September 2026. Corrections welcome.