In the history of the church, only a few popes have resigned for various reasons, and a few have been deposed for various reasons. St. Pontian was the first pope to resign from office. He had been elected as the successor of St. Peter July 21, 230. During the persecution waged by Emperor Maximinus Thrax, St. Pontian was exiled to Sardinia and condemned to work in the salt mines, which meant certain death. For the good of the church, he resigned as pope Sept. 28, 235, to enable the election of a new pope, St. Anterus. St. Pontian was martyred in 236, either from ill treatment in general or from a mortal beating.
On the other hand, St. Silverius, who was consecrated pope June 1, 536, was the first pope forcibly deposed. In March 537, the wicked Byzantine Empress Theodora had the pope kidnaped and removed from Rome for not approving her nominations of heretics for bishops. He was exiled to the island of Palmaria until his death Nov. 11, 537. Since St. Silverius had been declared “deposed,” the clergy and people of Rome elected Pope Vigilius, who was consecrated March 29, 537.
A similar situation befell St. Martin I, who was consecrated pope in July 649. Like St. Silverius, St. Martin opposed the Byzantine emperor’s attempts to promote the heresy of monothelitism and to appoint heretical bishops. The emperor had St. Martin kidnaped, taken to Constantinople, deposed, condemned and exiled. He died in the Crimea Sept. 16, 656, of ill-treatment and neglect. He was the last pope to die as a martyr.
Pope Benedict IX holds the honor notoriety for holding the papacy three separate times. He was the nephew of both Pope Benedict VIII (1012-24) and Pope John XIX (1024-32), and a member of a very powerful family. Upon the death of Pope John XIX, Benedict’s father, Alberic, bribed, manipulated and threatened the Roman clergy to elect his son although he was too young, inexperienced and without any ecclesiastical training. Most historians sadly cite Benedict IX’s papacy as the lowest point in the history of all of the popes. After various scandals, the clergy and people of Rome deposed and exiled him, and elected a new pope, Sylvester III, who was consecrated Jan. 20, 1045. However, Benedict and his forces regrouped and deposed Sylvester III Feb. 10, 1045; Benedict was officially reinstated as pope April 10, 1045. However, he resigned 21 days later on May 1, 1045, to pursue promises of money and other favors, and Pope Gregory VI assumed the papacy May 5, 1045. However, something went awry, and Benedict reclaimed the papacy (along with Sylvester III).
With the help of King Henry III of Germany, a genuine reformer and defender of the faith, the Council of Sutri convened Dec. 20, 1046, and deposed Benedict IX, Sylvester III, and Gregory VI (these latter two dying in exile). On Dec. 23, the clergy and people of Rome elected Pope Clement II, who was consecrated Dec. 25. Clement II died Oct. 9, 1047, and Benedict IX installed himself as pope Nov. 8,1047, technically his third pontificate. King Henry III intervened again, removing Benedict IX from power forever July 17, 1048. That same day, Pope Damasus II was consecrated pope. As for Benedict IX, the three-time pope, he retired to the Abbey of Grottaferrata, where he repented of his sins, officially resigned as pope, and spent the rest of his life doing penance. Even though Benedict presents an “interesting” picture of the papacy, he never taught anything contrary to the faith; moreover, his frailty prompted the next popes to introduce many reforms governing simony and clerical discipline. Also, in 1059, Pope Nicholas II promulgated that the cardinals alone serve as the papal electors.
Another pope to resign was St. Celestine V, who was elected pope July 5, 1294 and consecrated Aug. 29. He was a Benedictine monk who enjoyed the life of a hermit and was renown for his spirituality. To break a deadlocked College of Cardinals, he was elected as pope even though he was 84 years old. Immediately, he became prey to scheming cardinals and nobility alike. He resigned Dec. 13, 1294, and returned to his monastery. Pope Boniface VIII, his successor and who probably remembered the intrigue of Benedict IX, had Celestine confined in a castle to prevent any attempt to reinstate him. He died May 19, 1295 (and was canonized by Pope Clement V on March 5, 1313).
Finally, Pope Gregory XII (1406-15) was elected as the legitimate pope at a time when there were two anti-popes: The Avignon Pope, Benedict XIII, who was supported by the French king; and the Pisa Pope, John XXIII, who was supported by conciliarists of the renegade Council of Pisa. (Please note that neither of these two latter mentioned popes were really popes.) Finally, at the Council of Constance (an official council), in order to heal the church, Pope Gregory XII officially resigned, Benedict XIII resigned, and John XXIII was deposed; Pope Martin V (1417-31) was then elected as the legitimate successor of St. Peter, following Gregory XII.
Therefore, we find some colorful history to the papacy, concerning resignations and depositions, and even human frailty. In all, Christ has preserved His church and the papacy. On Ash Wednesday, Pope Benedict, with great humility, captured this point well at his public audience: “I have decided to renounce the ministry that the Lord has entrusted to me on April 19, 2005. I did this in full freedom for the good of the church, after having prayed at length and having examined my conscience before God, well aware of the seriousness of the act, but equally conscious of no longer being able to carry out the Petrine ministry with the strength that it requires. I am supported and enlightened by the certainty that the church is Christ, who will never allow it to lack His leadership and care.” Christ indeed will not abandon His body, the church.