The cardinals were deadlocked. They had been deadlocked for 27
months, since 1292 when Pope Nicholas V died. There were only
twelve cardinals and they were evenly divided between two
factions of the Roman nobility. Neither side would give way.
Each hoped for the perks that would accrue from having one of
their number named pope. And then a message arrived from the
mountains. Peter Murrone, the hermit founder of the Celestines,
a strict branch of Benedictines, warned that God was angry with
the cardinals. If they did not elect a pope within four months,
the Lord would severely chastise the church. Eager for a way out
of their deadlock, the cardinals asked themselves, why not elect
Peter himself? Finally the cardinals could agree. In a vote that
they declared to be "miraculous" they unanimously chose Peter.
When three of the cardinals climbed to his mountain roost to
tell Peter he had been chosen, the hermit wasn't happy. All of
his life, he had tried to run away from people. Dressed like
John the Baptist, he s