Before his promotion to the Chair of St. Peter29, Pope Celestine V was a hermit in the hills of Morrona and was only convinced with great difficulty to accept the honors entrusted to him. Up until then there was no legal rule allowing the pope to abdicate, he wore the papal crown until a ruse made possible his return to the hermit’s life.
It was Boniface, a clergyman, who was entrusted with personal service to Celestine. He was a man given to the worldly life (evidenced by his having fathered twelve sons) but also strove for the papal crown. Now, it should be noted that in the pope’s bedroom were two richly appointed beds; in one slept the Holy Father, the other was designated for his bride — the mater ecclesia. In the latter Boniface professed to have found a letter written in gold text (that he actually prepared himself), and to have given it unopened to Celestine.
Celestine opened the letter and found in it a message from the heavenly church to the one on earth according to which the head of the latter, the pope, should step down, give up his office and serve God simply providing doing so speaks more to his nature. Celestine, an unsuspecting man, believed in the letter’s authenticity and so under that condition abdicated and returned to his hermit’s hut.
Boniface, as he wished, then ascended to the papal throne (1294). He was an energetic and bold man who later wrote a book, Bonifacius Caecus, in which he ruled that in the future any pope could abdicate. In the fourth year of his reign he seized a strong resentment against the cardinals Peter and Jacob, releasing a papal bull beginning with the words, “That thy way may be known upon earth…(Psalm 67:2)” but with the closing, “ut sciant omnes quia dominus papa solus altissimus super omnem terram”.
But the cardinals had a strong following and resisted the pope with weapons in hand. It went so far that some of Boniface’s relatives died by the sword or fire. Boniface however was bold and audacious in his bearing, and he took pleasure also in rash and decisive dealings, as the following stories prove.
A priest once made a pilgrimage from France to Rome. As he with his companions had already traveled more than halfway, the group was attacked by armed robbers in a forest. One of the robbers attacked the brother to tear away his cloak. But the priest, who possessed meaningful strength, held his garment tightly and didn’t let it be taken. During the back-and-forth struggle, he spoke kind words to the robber asking him to leave the cloak, as it belonged to his religious dress that he used to solicit for charity.
The robber paid no attention, and the monk saw that he would be the loser. So with a quick jerk he tore away his opponent’s sword, loose in its tether, from its sheath. He gave the villain such a powerful stroke that his head flew from his body. He then grasped the blade with both hands and attacked the remaining robbers who were busy with plundering the other travellers, crying loudly that he would kill the whole band. The robbers, who in such an unexpected manner had lost their leader, were taken suddenly with such fright that they ran away, disappearing into the forest.
When the monk came to Rome, the knowledge of his deed spread and reached the pope’s ear, who called for him. The brother told what had driven him to kill, adding that his conscience was troubled. “Since the deed, have you already performed any religious services?” asked Boniface, and as an affirmative answer followed, he said, “Had that not already occurred, you would have had to immediately perform a mass”.
This judgment coincided completely with the pope’s sense described earlier, and in addition did not conflict with the canon law allowing the priesthood to raise a hand in defense against acts of insult.
Not far from Rome, there was a monastery of black Benedictine) monks. Near the monastery presided a diocesan priest. Because the two churches were so close to each other, there were often conflicts between the brothers and the priest; specifically, they both often claimed the right to bury the wealthy and thereby obtain the generous sacrificial donations. Finally, the pope, asked for a decision, decided that the church would receive the donation that the deceased in their last will had chosen as a burial place.
Not long thereafter, a rich man died who in his final testament had generously favored the priest’s church. The burial proceeded and as the priest stood in his vestments on the altar reading the requiem mass. Suddenly outside there occurred such a loud noise, and the monks with their boy servants pushed into the church and accused the priest of taking possession of the body against church law. Disregarding the protests of the priests, the monks ordered the boys to take away the dead man.
Luckily, the priest had a big, manly sexton. As he saw that the monks were not amenable to good intentions, he grabbed the cross staff that he carried when leading the burial procession and swung it around himself so forcefully that the monks and their servants fled in panic. The monks then complained to Boniface, who then summoned the priest and the sexton to account for their actions. The priest, however, feared the pope and so the sexton took over the task, going to Rome with a letter from his lord. Boniface was harsh with the sexton, but as soon as he learned the real circumstances he praised the sexton with but one regret only: that the staff had so little effect.
The monks had to return home empty-handed and endure mockery and disparaging talk from the sexton.
29The Cathedra Petri (Chair of St. Peter), originally a gift of Charles the Bald in 875 and though no longer used as a chair, is the symbol of the pope’s authority.