Born 1221 in Abruzzi, Italy, Pietro del Morrone was the 11th child of a poor farmer who died when Pietro was young. As a child, he had visions of our Blessed Lady, angels and saints. At 20 he left home to live in seclusion for 3 years, praying, working, and reading the Bible. Assaulted by evil spirits and beset with temptations of the flesh, he was consoled by angels. His seclusion was soon invaded by disciples who refused to leave; he gave them a rule of life which formed the Holy Spirit Community of Majella, or Celestines, a branch of the Benedictines. Many kindred spirits gathered about him eager to live his rule of life, and before his death there were 600 religious in 36 monasteries bearing his papal name.

During a 2-year conclave in which the cardinals did not elect a pope, Pietro sent a message that God was not pleased with the long delay. The cardinals decided then to chose Pietro. In July, 1294, his pious exercises were interrupted by a scene unmatched in church history. At 72 years, the anchorite found himself torn from his solitude. Resistance was no use. Seated on an ass, he made his way to be crowned taking the name Celestine to remind him of the heaven he was leaving and for which he sighed.
 
The primary objective of his pontificate was to reform clergy, many of whom used spiritual power to obtain wordly power. He called for a year of forgiveness of sins, and return to evangelical austerity and fidelity. However he made many serious mistakes and members of the Curia took advantage of him, leading to mismanagement and tumult in the Vatican. Knowing he was responsible, Peter judged himself unfit for office, asked forgiveness for his mistakes, and abdicated after just 5 months. Clergy and monks surrounded the castle, and with tears and prayers implored him to continue his rule, but he remained firm in his decision.

Desiring seclusion Peter left the palace, but was brought back by the papal guards, for his successor, Boniface VIII, feared a schism. Lest he be prevailed upon to take back his office, he was retained and observed in custody at Anagni.
 
He yearned for his cell in Abruzzi, managed to escape, and to his monks’s great joy reappeared among them at Majella. Boniface ordered his arrest; and he was confined in the castle tower of Fumone near Anagni, attended by two of his own religious.  Content, he remarked: “I desired nothing but a cell, and a cell they have given me.” There he enjoyed his former loving intimacy with the saints and angels, and sang the Divine praises almost continually.

On Pentecost Sunday, he told his guards he would die within the week, and immediately fell ill. He received the Last Sacraments, and on 19 May 1296, as he finished the concluding verse of Lauds, “Let every spirit bless the Lord!” he closed his eyes to this world in his 81st year and opened them to the vision of God. His remains were taken to the church of his order, St Maria di Collemaggio, at Aquila, where they are still the object of great veneration.