Not many cardinals want to become pope, but there have been some who even ran away from the office, afraid of the weighty responsibility.
Such was the case with Pope Celestine V, a man who definitely did not aspire to be the Vicar of Christ on earth.
The Runaway Pope
Prior to being chosen to become the next pope, Pietro de Morone loved solitude. The Catholic Encyclopedia explains how he first became a hermit:
He was of humble parentage, became a Benedictine at the age of 17, and was eventually ordained priest at Rome. His love of solitude led him first into the wilderness of Monte Morone in the Abruzzi, whence his surname, and later into the wilder recesses of Mt. Majella. He took for his model the Baptist. His hair-cloth was roughened with knots; a chain of iron encompassed his emaciated frame; he fasted every day except Sunday; each year he kept four Lents, passing three of them on bread and water.
While he sought solitude, many other men were attracted to his way of life and assembled around him.
When the pope of his time died, the College of Cardinals had a difficult time choosing a successor. News that the Church was still without a pope reached Pietro, who wrote a letter to the cardinals, imploring them to elect someone.
In answer, the cardinals decided to elect Pietro himself, based on his reputation and the letter he sent.
A failed getaway
When they approached Pietro, he ran away from them, not wanting the responsibility to be the Supreme Pontiff.
He preferred his life as a hermit and saw such an important role in the Church to be too much for him to handle
They tracked him down and he eventually relented, receiving the papal crown and choosing the name, Pope Celestine V.
However, his papacy did not last long as his heart yearned to be in solitude. After only five months, he became the first pope to resign outside of a schism or scandal.
A successor in his footsteps
This was the pope that many saw as paving the way for Pope Benedict XVI in our own times, many centuries later.
Pope Celestine V was later canonized a saint, and his example reminds us all of the immense weight of the papacy and the burden the pope carries every day. It also recalls that each saint has his own gifts, talents, and capacities, and a very holy man (a saint!) can be unfit to be pope.
