How many pope resigns

Finally, in July of , a pious hermit by the name of Pietro da Morrone was elected in the hopes that he could lead the papacy back to the right path.

Pietro, who was close to 80 years old and longed only for solitude, was not happy to be chosen; he only agreed to occupy the papal chair because it had been vacant for so long.

Taking the name Celestine V, the devout monk attempted to institute reforms. But though Celestine is almost universally considered a saintly man, he was no administrator.

After struggling with the problems of papal government for several months, he, at last, decided it would be best if a man more suited to the task took over.

Ironically, Celestine's wise decision did him no good. Because some did not think his abdication was lawful, he was prevented from returning to his monastery, and he died sequestered in Fumone Castle in November of At the end of the 14th century, one of the strangest events ever to involve the Catholic Church took place.

In the process of bringing about an end to the Avignon Papacy , a faction of cardinals refused to accept the new pope in Rome and elected a pope of their own, who set up back in Avignon. The situation of two popes and two papal administrations, known as the Western Schism, would last for decades. Although all concerned wanted to see an end to the schism, neither faction was willing to allow their pope to resign and let the other take over.

But although the negotiations that proceeded between Gregory and Benedict looked hopeful at first, the situation rapidly degenerated into one of mutual distrust, and nothing happened -- for more than two years. Filled with concern over the lingering break, cardinals from both Avignon and Rome were moved to do something. In July , they met at a council in Pisa to negotiate an end to the schism.

Their solution was to depose both Gregory and Benedict and to elect a new pope: Alexander V. However, neither Gregory nor Benedict would acquiesce to this plan. Now there were three popes.

Alexander, who was about 70 years old at the time of his election, lasted only 10 months before passing away under mysterious circumstances. For four more years, the three popes remained deadlocked. After months of discussion and some very complicated voting procedures, the council deposed John, condemned Benedict, and accepted Gregory's resignation.

With all three popes out of office, the way was clear for the Cardinals to elect one pope, and one pope only: Martin V. Elected: April 19, Resigned: February 28, Unlike the drama and the stress of the medieval popes, Benedict XVI resigned for a very straightforward reason: his health was frail. In the past, a pope would hang onto his position until he drew his last breath; and this wasn't always a good thing.

Benedict's decision seems rational, even wise. And though it struck many observers, Catholic and non-Catholic alike, as a surprise, most people see the logic and support Benedict's decision.

Who knows? And my inquiries have confirmed that. He's one of the most senior figures in the church and knows the Vatican like the back of his hand. He was even, for a short time in March of this year, mooted as a possible successor to Pope Benedict. And he was one of the select handful of senior church officials who were in the Pope's Apostolic Palace when he broke the news to them personally. I raised the subject of the scandals that had preceded the Pope's bombshell decision and, in particular the Vatileaks affair in which the Pope's butler, Paolo Gabriele, had leaked confidential documents exposing Vatican power struggles.

Could that have been a factor in his resignation? His answer was unexpected. It could be one of the reasons," he told me. It can be one of the reasons. I don't expect him to be enjoying that event. In the Vatican, young ambitious members of the church are advised to "hear a lot, see everything and say nothing".

That such a senior figure should essentially countenance a departure from the official line is significant. Essentially, Pope Benedict was a teaching Pope, a theologian and intellectual. He had been suffering from a severe case of symptomatic diverticular stenosis, a narrowing of the colon. I lead a totally normal life," he said, adding that 33 centimetres 13 inches of his intestine was removed. He further dismissed the report of his potential resignation by outlining his full schedule, with a trip to Hungary and Slovakia on Sept.

Sarah produced letters from Benedict making clear Benedict had written the text and approved of publishing it as a book. But the cardinal — a hero to purists and conservatives and a quiet critic of Francis — also acknowledged that he knew a Benedict-written text on priestly celibacy would create a clamor, and that he persuaded Benedict it was worth it. He had long been pushed by the right wing as a contender to be the first African pope. But Rorate Caeli, a traditionalist blog highly critical of Francis, said Tuesday the scandal had killed those chances, given the suspicions that Sarah took advantage of an old man.

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