Hermit-pope

Is it not the fate of hermits to fail in worldy standards of authority and persuasion? Their authority and their persuasiveness are only in their example, and cannot be transferred into the so-called “real” world. Like a sage, the good hermit expresses his virtues in daily life itself, silently, anonymously, without fanfare.

Ponder the fate of the eleventh-century hermit Pietro di Murrone, who took his name after his favorite place of seclusion in native Italy. There he thrived as a kind of John the Baptist, austere, roughly clad and fasting regularly. Inevitably he attracted followers, founded hermitages for them and called his followers Celestines. This apparent success and popularity attracted unscrupulous clerical factions. Given the political and ecclesiastical turmoil of the time, they managed to get Pietro elected pope (he was 79 years old) under the name of Celestine V. They created an order for themselves, also called Celestines, much to the confusion of historians. But Pietro despised the world, especially the world of ecclesiastical politics, and spent most of his time in reclusion. In contradiction, of course, to his administrative responsibilities. The new Celestines took advantage of him, as did the Holy Roman Emperor. For five months, chaos reigned, until a highly-placed cardinal persuaded Pietro to retire — not altruistically, because the same cardinal then declared himself Pope Boniface VIII and had Pietro imprisoned for the rest of his life.