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Zusatztext “I’m not embarrassed to say that I knew very little about the remarkable story of Peter Morrone! the monk turned pope. But I’m delighted to say that the tale! as exciting and compelling as any novel or film! is beautifully told by Jon Sweeney. This long-forgotten saga is rightly restored to its place as one of the most unusual episodes in the entire history of the church.” —James Martin! SJ! author of Between Heaven and Mirth “Jon M. Sweeney’s loving portrait of Celestine V is that rare work of history that also feeds the soul. Anyone interested in the collision of hope! despair! and faith will come away nourished.” —John L. Allen Jr.! author of A People of Hope "I have read several of Jon Sweeney’s books! always with pleasure. He is a conscientious researcher! and a fine storyteller! with a wonderful gift for creating a sense of place and time. This time he tells the story of Celestine V! a hermit who was elected pope! then abdicated five months later. In The Pope Who Quit! Sweeney gives us a vivid snapshot of a tumultuous period in the history of the Catholic Church and Western Europe." –Thomas J. Craughwell! author of Saints Preserved: An Encyclopedia of Relics Informationen zum Autor JON M. SWEENEY is an author, a book publisher, and a popular speaker. He is the editor of The Road to Assisi: The Essential Biography of St. Francis and the author of many books, including Verily, Verily: The KJV—400 Years of Influence and Beauty . He lives in Vermont with his wife and three children. Klappentext The riveting story of Pope St. Celestine V, the pope who retired from the papacy. At the close of the tumultuous Middle Ages, there lived a man who seemed destined from birth to save the world. His name was Peter Morrone, a hermit, a founder of a religious order, and, depending on whom you talk to, a reformer, an instigator, a prophet, a coward, a saint, and possibly the victim of murder. A stroke of fate would, practically overnight, transform this humble servant of God into the most powerful man in the Catholic Church. Half a year later, he would be the only pope in history to abdicate the chair of St. Peter, an act that nearly brought the papacy to its knees. What led him to make that decision and what happened afterward would be shrouded in mystery for centuries. The Pope Who Quit pulls back the veil of secrecy on this dramatic time in history and showcases a story that involves deadly dealings, apocalyptic maneuverings, and papal intrigue. Leseprobe PROLOGUE Toward the close of the Middle Ages, in 1285, there lived three men whose lives would intersect and forever change history. Each was a man of power. Each was stubborn. Each was skilled at the life and work to which he seemed destined from birth. The most important of the three and the central ? gure of this book is Peter Morrone. His surname comes from the mountain that he called home for most of his life. Peter was a monk and the founder of a religious order, and depending on whom you talk to, he was also a reformer, an instigator, a prophet, a coward, a fool, and a saint. He was very much a man swept up in history, and practically overnight he would be transformed from a humble hermit into Pope Celestine V, the most powerful man in the Catholic Church. He would also become the only man in history to walk away from his job, vacating the chair of St. Peter before he died. If Peter Morrone lived today in the mountains outside of Rome or Los Angeles or New Delhi he might be a celebrity guru. From early in his life he was a man with a mountain, or montagna, and made his casa di montagna . If he’d lived in the twenty- ?rst century, talks to his fellow monks might be smuggled out of his enclave as digital audio ?les, soon to be packaged and sold by a big New York concern. He would emerge every now and then to speak pri...
