The church calls him a saint, for his holy life and his attempt to renew and purify the church, but Dante puts him in hell for being a quitter.
Was Dante right? Yes, he was personally Holy, but because he quit, those running the church chose money over holiness, moved to Avignon, which later resulted in the schism of the church for awhile when the Pope moved back to Rome, and ultimately these political shennanigans led many to reject the papacy itself, i.e. the Protestant Reformation.
Question of the day: What would have happened if Celestine hadn't quit? ----------------------------------
Triva question: which popes (beside Celestine) resigned? The BBC has the answer:
Pope Gregory XII - who reigned from 1406 to 1415 - did so to end what was called the Western Schism.
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