Celestine V Accidentally Becomes Pope

During the papal election of 1294, a Catholic monk named Pietro del Morrone wrote an angry letter to the cardinals, urging them to end the two-year stalemate. Surprisingly, the cardinals elected him pope upon receiving the letter. Although he tried to flee, they pressured him into accepting the position. Soon after, he issued a decree allowing popes to resign-and did so himself just one week later. He became known as Pope Celestine V.

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