A (Previous) Pope Who Quit

No doubt, most of you have heard that Pope Benedict XVI is stepping down February 28, 2013, as the Bishop of Rome ("Pope Benedict XVI Says He Will Resign"). This is the first time in over 600 years this has happened. A previous Pope who quit was Pope Celestine V, who reigned for only 15 weeks before deciding the papacy wasn't for him. There's plenty of news about Pope Benedict, but if you're interested in learning more about the short reign of Pope Celestine V, there's a podcast (from Research on Religion) about it ("Jon M. Sweeney on the Pope Who Quit"). Here's a brief description of the podcast:

How often has a pope willingly resigned from his position? In our interview with Jon Sweeney, we get insight into the life and times of Peter Morrone (a.k.a., Pope Celestine V) who reigned for 15 weeks in 1294 before quitting his post just before Christmas. This fascinating tale of a spiritual hermit who lived a humble life, yet ascended to the papacy in one of the more incredible tales of the Church’s history, reveals the 13th century struggles between the ecclesia spiritualis (spiritual Church) and the ecclesia carnalis (the worldly church of power). It also tells us a great deal about our contemporary religious life.