Pope Saint Celestine V was the 11th of 12 children and was drawn to a life of solitude and prayer. He became a hermit in the mountain of Italy at the of 20. For the next 64 years, he lived a peaceful life and others joined him. Celestine formed a small religious community.
In 1294 after two years without a Pope, Celestine wrote a letter to the Conclave expressing his concern and God’s displeasure. The Cardinals elected him as Pope and those who went to him found an 84-year-old man red-eyed from weeping over the news. 200,000 people gathered to meet him as he rode to Rome on a donkey. Celestine never lost his love of the hermit‘s life and spent his last days in prayer. He died on May 19, 1296, in Rome, Italy of natural causes. He was buried in the church of Saint Agatha, Ferentino, Italy.