The Pope who Quit

The Pope who Quit
By Jon M. Sweeney
Published February 2012
304 Pages
Thibault’s Score: 3/5


The Pope who quit is a popular history of Pope Celestine V / Peter of Morrone.


Peter of Morrone was a Christian hermit monk and mystic who lived a hard and simple life. Because of papal infighting, he was named pope in 1294. He proved to be an incompetent pope, because he was more concerned with his spiritual life than he was the papacy. He only was pope for a few months until he retired, and died 10 months later.


I really enjoyed reading about the hard and simple life of medieval hermits. The extreme devotional behavior s shocking - displays of fortitude, pain endurance, and rigor.


It is always interesting to learn about the internal politicking and conflicts of the 13th century.


I recommend this book to people studying the Middle Ages. It is an interesting case study that neatly intersects with the rest of my research about the period.