The 13th-century hermit Pope Celestine V is a role model for men and women seeking to reject material things and rediscover the simple art of contemplation, Pope Benedict XVI has said.
The Pope was speaking from the mountain town of Sulmona in the Abruzzo region for festivities to mark the 800th birthday of the only pontiff to have ever resigned.
Following an open-air Mass in stifling heat, Benedict visited the area struck by the 2009 L’Aquila earthquake before praying in front of the salvaged remains of Celestine. “We live in a society where it seems that every space, every moment must be filled with initiatives, activities, sounds,” the Holy Father said. “Often there isn’t even the time to listen.”
