Celestine (or Coelestin) I, Pope

Celestine (Or Coelestin) I, Pope, a Roman by birth, was elected Pope in 422, on the death of Boniface I. During his pontificate the Council of Ephesus, against Nestorius, was held, upon which occasion he wrote several letters to the Eastern churches. He claimed authority and primacy in the Roman See, and sought to exercise it over the African Church in vain. In the Nestorian dispute above mentioned he was more successful, as Cyril, in order to put down Nestorius, accepted the authority of Celestine against him. He left thirteen letters; among them is a complaint as to the dress of bishops; but it is doubtful whether it means that the clergy should dress like the laity, or should abstain from some special garment which some had adopted. He died March 25 (or July 26), 432. Celestine is; said to have sent Palladius and St. Patrick as missionaries to Ireland, but the story is very doubtful. It is not clear that either of them ever had any connection with Rome. His letters are preserved in the Collection of Councils. He is counted among the saints of the Church of Rome. — Biog. Univ. 7:497; Cormenin, Lives of the Popes, 1:79.

2. Pope, originally Guido, of Città di Castello, in Tuscany, studied under Abelard, and succeeded Innocent II September 26th, 1143. He died in March, 1144.

3. Pope, a Roman named Iacinto Orsini, cardinal of Santa Maria, was elected Pope March 30, 1191, at eighty-five. He crowned Henry V and his wife Constance, and made a great display of arrogance in doing it; entered warmly into the scheme for delivering the Holy Land, on which account he espoused the cause of Richard I of England, and fulminated censures against Leopold of Austria and the emperor, who detained Richard prisoner. He died January 8, 1198. During his last illness he proposed to transfer his papal authority to cardinal Colonna, to which, of course, the cardinals objected.

4. Pope, originally called Goffredo, of the family of Castiglione, of Milan. He was elected Pope October 26, 1241, and died on the 17th of November following.

5. Pope, originally Pietro de Murrone, was born 1215 at Isernia. With a few companions he withdrew to a cave on Monte Majella, where he lived a life of extreme austerity. After a time his disciples multiplied so greatly that he was induced to form them into a new order (called first the congregation of St. Damian,: but subsequently the order of Celestines), under the rule of St. Benedict. This order was confirmed by Gregory X in the Synod of Lyons, 1274. On the 5th of July, 1294, he was elected pope, and took the name of Celestine V. He proved to be too ignorant of the world and its ways, as well as of literature, for the office which he was so suddenly called upon to undertake. Feeling his unfitness, and finding that many abuses were committed in his name, he resigned Dec. 13, 1294, and retired to his solitude. He was cruelly imprisoned by his successor Boniface, who detained him in custody until his death, May 19, 1296. Clement V canonized him, and his day in the calendar is May 19. — Moshelm, Ch. list. 1:349; Hoefer, Nouv. Biog. Generale, 9:346.